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A new study estimates that the suicide rate in Maui spiked by 97% in the month of August 2023 fires. The rate of suicide reached 7.89 per 100,000 people, which was the highest rate since 2014.
For other Hawaiian communities, the rate of suicide was up that month by 46%.
Why? Likely the trauma of losing homes, loved ones, and a sense of security can lead to severe psychological distress, increasing the risk of suicide and substance abuse.
The authors of this study emphasize “the importance of rapidly deploying suicide and overdose prevention interventions during wildfire response and recovery phases and ensuring that interventions reach communities beyond areas directly impacted.”
Does it?
It’s worth considering the lessons from Ethan Watters’ groundbreaking book, “Crazy Like Us.” Watters shows how unstandardized Western therapy models can sometimes do more harm than good and undermine age-old coping mechanisms built into strong communities.
Watters recounts the story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which devastated coastal areas of Sri Lanka and other countries. Following the tsunami, an influx of Western mental health professionals flooded the region, offering therapy and psychiatric medications, which led to higher rates of alcoholism and depression.
This may be an important cautionary tale for Maui to say “no thank you” to Western models of suicide “prevention.”