The myth that suicides spike during the holidays comes back to haunt us every year.
The months of November, December and January have the lowest number of suicides per day, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, which analyzed 1999-2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found that rates were highest in the spring and summer.
“There is still this sort of ironic thought that maybe there are people not happy at this time,” said Annenberg's Dan Romer. He added that songs and movies focused on the “holiday blues” — including the favorite “It's a Wonderful Life” — perpetuate the myth.
The center, which has tracked the news media's reporting of suicides since 2000, looked at stories that linked suicides and the holidays. In 1999, 77 percent of those stories said, erroneously, that suicides increased over the holidays. The proportion of stories that supported that myth dropped after the center's analysis came out, but rose again last year to 76 percent.
“The return of the holiday-suicide connection may be related to the fact that the adult (ages 25 and older) suicide rate has increased in recent years in step with the Great Recession,” said Romer, who has directed the study since its inception. “With more people affected by suicide, news stories about suicide may be more common over the holidays, bringing the myth back to our attention.”
In 2010, there were 38,364 suicides in the country, an average of 105 a day. The month with the highest daily average was July, with 111.3. The lowest, 98.2, was December. The CDC said suicide was the 10th-leading cause of death in 2010.
Suicide prevention experts say stories perpetuating the myth are not only wrong but dangerous.
“An article that leads them to believe that it's normal for people in their situation to end their life may be just that little nudge that puts them over,” said David Litts of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
