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Suicide Spikes in South Dakota; Where’s Noem’s No-Lockdown Dividend?

In March, Governor Kristi Noem claimed that “because we balanced fighting the virus with maintaining social, economic, and mental health, South Dakota didn’t see an increase in suicide rates.”

Um, (1) deaths by suicide went down in 2020 nationwide, including in places that took fighting coronavirus seriously, by 5.6%, while deaths by suicide in South Dakota ticked up from 185 to 186. Suicide amidst the pandemic also decreased in Australia, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. Lockdowns didn’t seem to provoke suicidal behavior, but there is evidence that suicidal ideation did increase among folks who got covid-19.

And—ulp!—(2), suicide spiked in South Dakota in the first three months of 2021:

New data from the state Department of Health show that from January through March 2021, 59 people died by suicide in South Dakota. By comparison, 28 suicide deaths were reported in the first three months of 2020, and 40 suicide deaths occurred in the first three months of 2019.

If the pace of deaths in early 2021 continues, the state would see a record 236 suicides in 2021, a 27% increase in deaths compared to 2020, when there were 186 suicide deaths, and a 70% jump over 2010, when 139 people died by suicide [Danielle Ferguson, “Spike in Suicides in South Dakota Causing Fears of Emerging Mental-Health Crisis,” South Dakota News Watch, 2021.07.08].

Noem’s narrative about “balance” doesn’t explain why suicide in South Dakota not only would not track with the national decrease in 2020 but then would spike in the first three months of this year.

18 Comments

  1. John Dale 2021-07-13 10:02

    It would be worse with lockdowns.

    We knew this would happen.

    “Two weeks to slow the spread” to “we’re coming to your door with shots.”

    How could this so accurately be predicted?

    Simple, they published the documents!

    It won’t work this time.

    We’re not shutting down.

    Life will find a way.

    Tyrants!

  2. Ryan 2021-07-13 10:44

    John, on what basis do you suggest it would be worse with lockdowns considering the evidence that cory offered showing that suicide rates were, in fact, not worse in places with lockdowns? You know, just saying things doesn’t make them true.

  3. Donald Pay 2021-07-13 13:17

    I have been saying that that a culture of “community cohesion” helped China get through the Covid crisis in much better shape than the US. But, “community cohesion” has other benefits. Some are pointing to historic crisis points for evidence that when human societies band together in common cause (as in WWII or the Spanish flu pandemic) suicide rates go down.

    As one health professional said,“Community cohesion and sense of belonging is a very potent protective factor against suicide risk, along with other experiences like connecting to support and mental health service.”
    https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-suicides-have-decreased-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

    I would bet that states that took the pandemic seriously and had a “we’re all in this together” attitude had better suicide statistics than those, like South Dakota, whose Governor made it clear that “you’re on your own.”

  4. Mark Anderson 2021-07-13 14:04

    Oh John, compare your Governor with the Republican Governor of Vermont. Compare the number of deaths and the percentages of people inoculated. Vermont is a yuge succes compared to South Dakota, what did they do differently?

  5. John Dale 2021-07-13 15:18

    Mark;

    Assuming the premise. I dispute the premise and have plenty of evidence indicating that the tests used are not accurate.

    Co-morbidities also cloud the picture.

    Hypothesis: The virus was used to highjack the election.

    Gaslighting the obvious is sociopathic.

    K. Noem is OUR governor, and it is up to us to help make sure she is not being trafficked.

    Any politician can be highjacked at any time. We should protect and inform our elected officials while outing intentionally dangerous bureaucratically installed legal rip tides.

    Sincerely,

    John

  6. sx123 2021-07-13 16:31

    John, Germany took covid so seriously that they cancelled Oktoberfest! Highly doubt any US presidential election would cause them to do this to influence an election they cannot influence (since they are in Germany…)

    And Vermont used their head.

  7. Porter Lansing 2021-07-13 16:38

    Most people in Vermont are rural, educated liberals.
    I’ve spent a lot of time with them.
    Most people in SD are a depleted gene pool of pig headed, ignorance.
    I’ve spent a lot of time with them, too.

  8. grudznick 2021-07-13 17:06

    Just ’cause you wear a funny hat doesn’t make one a liberal, Mr. Lansing. Look at my good friend Bob. He’s a Libertarian.

  9. Scott 2021-07-13 17:44

    Is there any age info on the suicides?

    Noem and the Trumpian took the position that if you were old, had health issues, or were concerned about Covid, you just should stay home and basically self isolate away from family and friends.

    So curious is suicides increased for people whom are older.

  10. Ska Sunka 2021-07-13 18:31

    Don’t mind me. I’m just here for the latest John Dale insanity.

  11. Bob Newland 2021-07-13 18:42

    Hard to keep a gubner from “being trafficked” when she traffics herself like a $4.79 whore.

  12. mike from iowa 2021-07-13 19:07

    Johnny Rabbit Hole Refugee, I can do anything better than anyone as long as I DON”T have to do it.

  13. Mark Anderson 2021-07-13 19:14

    Thank you for your non answer John. You know when I first saw you referring everyone to your site I thought why is everything from the Huron paper. You always refer to little truths to undermine the bigger truth why is that John?

  14. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2021-07-13 20:04

    Scott, Danielle Ferguson reports that “State officials have not yet reported data regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and location of the 2021 suicide deaths, but prevention experts are increasingly concerned that young adults and health-care workers may be at higher risk and that school-age children face the greatest risk.”

  15. ABC 2021-07-14 06:43

    Both parties do not offfer hope.

    Here is the Main part of SDDP web page:

    THE SOUTH DAKOTA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
    Sign up for Newsletters, Press Releases, and Action Alerts!
    *
    Email address
    Name*
    First
    First
    Last
    Last
    Phone

    Inspiring, huh?

  16. Wayne 2021-07-14 08:04

    The surge of mental health issues, including suicide, are to be expected. South Dakota may not have locked down, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t impacts from the pandemic. The big question is whether there’s a statistically significant differential in suicide / depression rates among states that went on lock down vs states that didn’t. We might need to control for infection / death per capita to ensure we can test the hypothesis regarding the impact of lockdowns on suicide.

  17. mike from iowa 2021-07-15 07:51

    Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 to a record 93,000, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the largest single-year increase recorded.

    I assume this is from WIKI.

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