Hard times: the suicide scourge among Australia's tradies

[DeepInThoughtParticipant 2710]

“It’s a beautiful place to die. Cool and blustery, the wind whipping the lonely headland under a high sun as waves rub this raw stretch of the NSW Central Coast. Below is Broken Bay; beyond, the long, clean sands of Palm Beach. Sitting on the cliff top, Peter Bagnall looks down at the waves and rocks more than 100 metres below. He wonders whether the fall would kill him or just break all his bones. “If it doesn’t work, what kind of mess am I going to leave?” he says, the wind stealing his words.
He sits there for hours, teetering on the edge. Tides ebb and flow. It took him a long time to find this spot, scrambling along dark paths that narrowed as they neared the cliffs. Stumbling over tree roots, ducking under banksia branches.”

^^^ I know exactly where this guy is, I grew up not far from the spot he is talking about.

Suicide among construction workers – who are almost exclusively men – aged 15 to 24 is more than twice as high as other young males, according to the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention. Every two days in Australia, a construction worker kills himself. They’re six times more likely to die from suicide than through a workplace accident. For those under the age of 24, the increased risk is 10 fold.

http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/hard-times-the-suicide-scourge-among-australias-tradies-20160218-gmxtcx.html

[Anonymous 5]

This is incredibly sad. I have only a brief idea of the grind they may face. R.I.P – I know a 12hr and a 6hr. But that is all towards another perspective.. There must be a root to this issue.

[HitmanParticipant]

that’s just plain f~~~ed up.
these men are young and have long lives to live..maybe that’s intimidating to them..
i was 20 once ..seems like yesterday , and i didn’t have a clue what i wanted to do .
maybe that explains part of it..
i’m gonna follow this thread and hope for insight ..

[Anonymous 1]

I’ve been there. Thinking about it. Wondering if I jumped off the bridge that is near where I live would kill me or just leave me crippled. In the end I snapped out of it and decided that if I am going to die, it is going to be fighting, and not falling. But I can relate to those men.

I hope they find help within themselves, because other then them, I don’t think anybody will (or even, in some cases, can) help. At least that was my experience.

Good luck brothers. And take care.

Cheers.

[VarunParticipant 2981]

Show this to the young college-going chicks with their banners quoting women empowerment and girl power. I’m pretty sure they need to take a look at it and prevent themselves from going rodeo.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[Anonymous 42]

Slavery, alcoholism, depression, what’s to stop a man from suicide?

When the backbone of any civilization is down trotted by an elite class (women) and made to feel insignificant for their contribution, the thought of being better of dead must enter and dwell in his mind.

In these mentally deplorable conditions a man must get a women out of his life, out of his head, and out of his heart! When this is achieved, the thought of suicide will likely vanish, however, some self entitled upper-class citizen (woman) will have to be content with a cat….

[uchibenkeiParticipant 7965]

i worked as an electrician for a few months. substance abuse was rampant. if you didn’t like the job, i could see it being hell. i loved it but i couldn’t wait the 4 years to get my journeyman so i found something that pays more. i joined the trade after leaving an accountant’s desk so for me it was awesome to work with my hands and build s~~~. for a young guy with no choice, maybe the dream of something better eats at his soul. regrets or lost hope will destroy a person inside. The other problem with young men, i think, is they are constantly told by society that they are worthless and women are the priority.

I bathe in the tears of single moms.

[Author]

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