Suicide in ski town article.

[LiquidFeet]

That's a fantastic way of looking at it.
Probably true because there's no score.

 

[oldschoolskier]

The endorphin rush we get in certain activities is what drives us to go further and harder. While self produced, it is just as addictive as other drugs.

So what we are is junkies, suffering withdraw whenever we can't ski.

So I think I' going to get into rehab at some mountain resort with snow and obviously ski a little doctors orders. Can I get this covered under Medicare?

 

[SBrown]

Interesting goings-on in Silverthorne this past week -- the Summit Daily has covered the story, and today published a very well written letter from the witness. The first three links are explanation, the final one is the article.

http://www.summitdaily.com/news/22991774-113/update-still-no-luck-in-search-for-missing
http://www.summitdaily.com/news/230...ibes-moment-paddleboarder-went-under-at-north
http://www.summitdaily.com/news/23091717-113/body-recovered-from-north-pond-as-suicide-investigation

http://www.summitdaily.com/news/23063980-113/eyewitness-of-north-pond-drowning-reflects-on-suicide

 

[Tricia]

That last article, with the eye witness story is eerie.

 

[tromano]

Check D.C., with a very low suicide rate, and also the lowest percentage of white residents (next to Hawaii) and highest percentage of black residents. I guess you'd need to find the percentage of suicides who were white vs black in D.C., and this would help.

As a 30year DC local I can say that black folks tend to have different problems, and make different choices. Black communities at their best can be much closer knit with people who expect to remain lifeong locals and strong community, religious and family leadership. It is very different than the transient isolation typical in ski towns. In the bad neighborhoods many have helplessness and hopelessness.

 

[tromano]

Neither M nor I are happy with the level of social life we have found since coming to UT. Definitely had more friends back east where we both went to university. I agree with the feeling that friendships since we moved here are activity based (and I include work friends in that). Actually I have fewer ski buddies now than I did when I lived in DC. In DC being a skier was something special that was like a bond of friendship. Here being a skier is just like being another guy.

 

[markojp]

I have been reluctant to post in this thread from the start because it hits too close but I've finally taken the time to read all the way through and am taking a deep breath...

I think what I find most interesting is that most are posting at an arm's length. Even if we knew someone who has committed suicide it's a distant subject. Statistics, musings, contemplation, concern. To those who haven't been close I think there is always a level of misunderstanding, disbelief, confusion.

I reflect on my desire to help friends who are suffering and realize that I very well may not know who those friends are and that frightens me. I know that most of my friends had no idea when I was there not so long ago. I'm okay now (yes, I promise, I'm okay) but I'd be willing to bet that none of you who knew me at that time knew I was in that place. Yet having been on both sides I have NO idea how to make it better. I feel so helpless when I think of either scenario.

Bravo and brave post, particularly the last line.

When the buzz of the day wears off, it all feels like another addiction to something that really does little to build a healthy long term community around us. I think it's about singular focus (could be making art, could be total commitment to career, being a 110% soccer parent, skiing, etc...) and the vunerabilities it breeds when we ask ourselves, "is this all there is?"

 

[Lorenzzo]

I was feeling great until I read this thread. Just kidding. This is my second tour in a ski town. I find the physiological effects of altitude discussed and referenced herein to be interesting. In my own case I notice the highs being a little higher and the lows being a little lower than at sea level but I've attributed that to the natural highs in the mountains being more intense which can then be followed by a void. But the lows have never stood up to the power of endorphins.

As I think about people here I've known and met, I don't detect any more depression or hopelessness than in LA. But of course what goes on inside can belie demeanor. Still, my general sense is people of all walks are happier here than in the metropolitan sea level places where I've spent most of my life. With the population and proximity to SLC perhaps isolation here is less than for outpost type locations. These observations are anecdotal and biased but it's all I have.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Bravo and brave post, particularly the last line.

When the buzz of the day wears off, it all feels like another addiction to something that really does little to build a healthy long term community around us. I think it's about singular focus (could be making art, could be total commitment to career, being a 110% soccer parent, skiing, etc...) and the vunerabilities it breeds when we ask ourselves, "is this all there is?"

 

[coskigirl]

Interesting that this bumped up today as it was 2 years ago today that I hit rock bottom and decided to climb out of the hole.

 

[markojp]

Don't know you, but glad your still here.

 

[Core2]

For anyone that didn't read the linked articles from Sbrown, this quote really hit home.

"In every moment of every day there is unspeakable horror and unfathomable suffering, but in every moment of every day there is also new life, kindness, compassion and ordinary people making good choices — people choosing love over hate, healing over injury, selflessness over selfishness. It truly is our choice of where to place our consciousness, being present to others when they are in need, but also moving toward light, beauty and serenity."

 

[neonorchid]

@coskigirl, Thank Gxd you pulled yourself out of itl!!!! Stay strong, and be well

 

[coskigirl]

Thank you. Truly, I am happy and well. I made a lot of changes at that time and while there are tough days I wake up each morning and chose to be happy.

 

[SBrown]

http://www.summitdaily.com/news/231...-leaders-mobilize-to-address-alarming-suicide

 

[Core2]

Just remember, when times get tough, there are miracles all around us everyday...

 

[cantunamunch]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...27c98455440_story.html?utm_term=.c77da462acb8

Backing paper (requires download): https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/mortality-and-morbidity-in-the-21st-century/

Figure 1.7 is of particular interest here.

 

[SkiNurse]

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-suicides-happening-at-such-an-alarming-rate/

 

[Ross Biff]

I haven't read all 8 pages on this thread but the general subject brought to mind a recent suicide in my own little farming/ ski town. It can be hard work during a frenetic ski season and possibly just as hard to get through the subsequent quiet time which can arrive quite suddenly. I also think that mountain/ski towns can attract a certain type which has been alluded to elsewhere in the thread...people who may be trying to leave behind some baggage with varying degrees of success or otherwise. I personally know several gun skiers who have their darker days. I hope that anyone going through this can find it in themselves to dig back up to the light. Coskigirl...thanks for sharing.

 

[Lorenzzo]

I've spent 5 years in Park City trying to understand how things are different with people compared to the metro areas in CA in which I've lived. All have been melting pots, experienced a lot of growth, prosperity, downturns, change, success and failure. Recreation and entertainment have been a large part of all of them. But as a gross generalization, people here seem different.

There's a fairly well adjusted, happy majority. There are also many on the edge. I've known three people who have been shot and killed in quarrels. Two others committed suicide. I come across many who from the outside seem as though they have everything going for them but aren't happy, almost as through they're programmed and even paradise can't make them happy.

Maybe it's not surprising some having a hard time would head towards the therapeutics of an apparent paradise only to find it doesn't work or wears off. There also may be the effect of the highs we get here like powder days, followed by the eerie silence of everyone leaving at season's end as Ross describes. Maybe something about the interface of a party town and the LDS culture plays a part.

Maybe the world has changed while I've been here. There are links above suggesting that. I've also come across, what, four suicides in immediate families of people I know back in CA.