Suicides in Australia are rarely ever reported in the news or in the papers. The media feels that this only glorifies the suicidal person's death and urges more suicidal tendencies in other people to go through with the act. There were more than 50 suicides in 9 years on the Gateway Bridge when the news media covered the incidents. The news media now restricts their coverage of the act to mass suicides, suicides by public figures, bizarre cases, statistical run downs on type, places, age groups, and other aspects of legitimate matters of public interest and concerns.
With all this in mind, you wonder how they find the families of those who commit these acts. You wonder what goes through their head as they grasp their final breath and see their last few seconds pass them by. You wonder what could of drove them to the breaking point to go through with this preconceived notion that knowingly robs their families of their lives.
My spouse rode her bike to work today across the Story Bridge. On the way another cyclist who we’ll call Jane stopped her. Jane asked my spouse whether or not she had a mobile phone on her and directed her to the side railing of the bridge. There she found a folded up coat and glasses neatly placed on top. "I think we got a jumper," Jane had said. Jane and her looked over the edge and saw a young man, no more than 20 years of age lying at the bottom on the pavement. A compound fracture and no movement told the two there was nothing they could do. My spouse called the ambulance that only confirmed their suspicions.
The incident of suicide among young people in Australia is extremely high. There are help lines and most Universities offer counseling services. I would hope that more people seek help before seeking an ultimate decision that results in taking their own lives and, inversely, those of the ones they love.