[olecapt]

Originally Posted by What!

Yeah LIS123, people do need to think of Las Vegas as any other city. Reading the posts on this forum has helped me understand that Las Vegas is basically like any other city with ups and downs, and I shouldn't view it the way advertisers want me to view it. Unfortunately, most people will always look at the glitz and glamor on the big screen and end up being sorely disappointed.

To olecapt, can you tell me why suicide is a southwest thing? Is it because the southwest was, to a significant degree, originally settled or populated by individuals and not large groups of people like in the east coast?

People have been theorizing about it since pre-statehood days. It apparently was a problem in the 19th century as well as in the 20th. So it is nothing new. Does it go with the libertarian propensity of the area? A tendency to say that you can't tell me what to do...so if I want to off myself I will.

It is intriguing. I have looked at it enough to believe it to be real...but I have yet to see anyone with a good explanation other than the SWers are cantankerous.

Note that like many SW things it does not hold for coastal CA.

[jfkIII]

I think it has something to do with The Pig Farm.

[geos]

Originally Posted by lexusman199

I'm moving to Vegas in the Spring to attend UNLV. I'm on depression meds because I'm a pretty lame individual bc there's nothing to do where I live hence my move to vegas.

but The main reason I'm on the depression meds is bc my friends went to diff colleges and meeting people in college has been tough

I'm moving to Vegas to have more things to do and make friends and get a gf. If I do not do these things I'd be more devastated bc Vegas is my last hope.

So...ya Im worried about the high suicide rate since I am on depression meds and my concern is that I'd be crushed if I didn't have a fun life in vegas.

Drugs aren't the only option; they're a last resort. In my case when I stopped eating high carb junk food my depression & anxiety went away almost completely. Eat whole food, eliminate high carb cr@p like alcohol, soda and sweets, get exercise every day, meditate or do relaxation exercises, find your passion in life, get a social support system (friends, family).

[SouthwestDriver]

I would think it may have to do with the fact that a casino can be found anywhere. Yes there are responsible gamblers, but there are people who have lost everything on very reckless gambling which is a cul-de-sac to poverty. You can put up a little gamble responsible sticker, but that's like trying to put a no gang hangout in a park in Watts, CA. The city does have alot of corruption, and there are some neighborhoods your grandma doesn't want you out at night. I could be wrong, but that's from a California's perspective. I'm sure those from Las Vegas have a much more detailed answer.

[exvegasman]

Its funny because a few years ago when I lived in Las Vegas, there were plenty of jobs, a great economy, plenty of building and house prices were constantly increasing. Now all that has changed. But still no reason to kill yourself. Its about your focus. If you see no way out, you will find no way out. If you see the light at the end of the tunnel, then you will go find that light.

[MomMom]

A few years ago exvegasman, the whole country had plenty of jobs, a great economy, plenty of building and house prices were constantly increasing. That is the not the way our economy is any longer.

Unfortunately, people come to Las Vegas to try and turn their bad luck around. Worst decision for most of them.

After they lose it all and have no hope, well, then, you know what they do.

[olecapt]

The high suicide rate in Nevada is true continuously since the 19th Century.

You need something different than Gambling or losers coming to the gold streets.

Note that it is worse in the rural counties than in Clark or Washoe.

It has something to do with the people who like it here or are attracted here.

When we get tired of it we make our own ending.

[jfkIII]

Loneliness kills...whether one is in the middle of desert and the nearest neighbor is 15 miles away...or in the middle of The Strip, where there are so many people...all strangers.

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

Loneliness kills...whether one is in the middle of desert and the nearest neighbor is 15 miles away...or in the middle of The Strip, where there are so many people...all strangers.

meh....if you are lonely in vegas then you will be lonely many other places.

[tijlover]

[quote=shaydie;6068647]Only you can make your own happiness. I've had three suicides close to me here in Las Vegas, one was my mom. My mom had a gambling problem, she also had a herniated disk in her back (she was newly employed by Southwest Medical and they wouldn't give her time off to get it fixed) and the other two people were clinically depressed. One was a friend of my mom's and one was a friend of mine.

[quote]I take Prozac and haven't been depressed for ages. As long as your chemicals are balanced out, it's up to you to provide your own happiness. I have a daughter in middle school and I tell her to count her blessings all the time. You need to find things that make you happy and then pursue those things. [quote]

I SHOULD be on anti-depressants, they were prescribed for me years ago, but I resisted the addiction. I just go around scaring people with my dark moods, and from the looks on many of their faces from seeing me, it cheers me up! Thank God I don't work somewhere where I need to uphold a cheerful demeanor.