Didn't read past them hopping in a boat w rifles, but the novel 'From the Mouth of the Whale' by Icelandic author Sjón is a serious dive into an Arctic psyche. Highly recommended.
The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
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Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
That said I find it much more cheerful going off somewhere sunny when it's Jan/Feb in London. Maybe they could lay on some charter flights to Bahia or somewhere.
I live in The Netherlands. One week of sunshine in February is by far the best cure for the winter blues. It gives you something to look forward to in the darkest days, and when you return it's almost springtime. Well, psychologically at least...
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Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#43Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world. And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countrie…
> Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world I find articles like this highly annoying. I see the headline, think "if it's not the darkness, I wonder what is" and click the link expecting to find the answer. Instead of the answer, however, I get a fluffy human-interest piece that I simply do not care about. How about we stop with crap like thi…
I agree with you on this. I would say that it's a poor editorial decision not to include a leading paragraph that addresses the headline.
Usually I find this is the difference between a good broadsheet newspaper and a provincial one.
It's fine to write in an expansive, non-tabloid way in the main body but you must address the headline in the first paragraph.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#44If you want to cut through the fluff search for "Why?" in the text of the article. More articles should do this.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#45I live 60 degrees northern latitude in a country with bad suicide statistics and the winters do get pretty harsh on you mentally. And there's still millions of people living norther than I do. Highest suicide rates occur during the spring, around the vernal equinox not around the darkest time of the year. If you've never experienced the northern spring where each day is 10+ minutes longer than the previous, you'll ne…
I live at 60 degrees also, and I agree with everything you said.
The cold didn't bother me at all, even though I'm from a hot country originally. I rode my bike to work every day of the year in fact, even in -45C. I loved it. It's like being on another planet in it's beauty and differences.
Like you said, it was always in late winter/early spring that I'd loose it a little. I'd grab a burger and beer after work, then somehow two weeks would go by where I had done that every day, with lots and lots of beer, and I wouldn't really know how it happened.
The key for my was to always, always get outside at midday when the sun it out and get it on your face. Even on the coldest days I always go for a walk along the river to marvel at the beauty and get the sun on my face - that's a luxury of not being further North, the sun actually comes up and I can have it directly on my face.
And to get moving after work. Eat dinner then go snowshowing, x-country skiiing or whatever for at least a couple of hours. It's nice to get into this habit before winter really hits in Oct/Nov, then keep it up. It's amazing to be out there in -45C with a headlamp, the stars and of course it's how you get to see the Northern lights more often than not.
Of course, in summer, I get home from work, eat dinner then go mntn biking/hiking/fishing/whatever until 2am in the beaming sunshine. I call it two days for the price of one.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#46I live 60 degrees northern latitude in a country with bad suicide statistics and the winters do get pretty harsh on you mentally. And there's still millions of people living norther than I do. Highest suicide rates occur during the spring, around the vernal equinox not around the darkest time of the year. If you've never experienced the northern spring where each day is 10+ minutes longer than the previous, you'll ne…
I actually have the opposite reaction to the spring. When I get 5+ minutes extra per day of light, I'm ecstatic, happy all the time. October and November are always brutal on me.
I'm only at 43-ish these days, but I've lived as far north as Edinburgh, Scotland (56ish). I had to explicitly get outside every day at lunch to get as much sun as I could.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is apparently a real thing.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#47I love, love, love Greenland. Best place I have ever been to. When I was spending time in Tasiilaq, I was told that the breakdown happened because of the fallout from the Greenpeace activities against seal clubbing in Canada. This destroyed the market for fur products and led to social welfare from Denmark and alcoholism. Anyway, when in Greenland it is politically correct to eat seal and whale, once you find out how…
I can't help thinking that if all world conflicts were resolved by rap battle, the US would be even more belligerent. What? You thought the East Coast versus West Coast divide was bad? Marijuana as export-controlled munitions? Colonel D-o-double-g and General Dre?
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#48And yet, she felt sure that doing something had to be better than doing nothing.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#49When I saw the title I thought this was going to be about Canada. Suicide rates are extremely high in some aboriginal communities; in Attawapiskat for example, 5% of the residents have attempted suicide in the past year. And I can't say that I really blame them. Attawapiskat is an extremely isolated community, with few jobs and no amenities. Kids growing up in Attawapiskat have nothing to look forward to. Those who l…
While there is some of what you mention going on my personal experience having lived many years in northern Ontario, had many native friends and acquaintances and seen many different bands (some call them reserves) is that many are successful with their own schools, police forces, businesses, and land rental to outside businesses and cottagers but you never hear about the successful ones cause they got their shit together. Only the disasters make the news.
It's not necessarily an isolation issue. It's really a combination of despair in the young (they don't see a clear path to succeed in life while holding on to their identity), a cultural shift between the old holding on to past grievances and the young wanting to move on. And a serious lack of individual accountability from so-called adults. For example, First Nations have an astronomical rate of diabetes. The alcohol abuse stereotype, while not as prevalent as people think, is higher than in the general population. Band councils ban booze on their land but people smuggle it and others look the other way.
As a people they are walking a knife's edge trying to live in a modern world while holding on their ancestral ways of self governance and cultural identity. I could write more about this but it would be off topic.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#50This reminds me so much of Native American communities in America. Loss of culture, feelings of no hope, no jobs, no opportunities, it's one of the worst feelings to have. When there's nothing else to do, and no hope of things getting better, suicide seems like the easy option.
Very good article.