No. of Recommendations: 5
"Studies comparing suicide rates between red and blue states consistently find that red states (MAGA) have much higher suicide rates."
The Mountain West "Suicide Belt": Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
Higher altitude with thinner air is thought to be one cause.
Emerging Rural "Belt": Researchers have identified a broader "suicide belt" stretching across the mid-section of the country, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia, and Virginia. (Alaska has a high rate too)
High suicide rates in these areas are often attributed to the "bootstraps" mentality, greater social isolation, limited access to mental health care, higher poverty rates, and easy access to firearms.
A bootstrap mentality is the belief that individuals can achieve success and overcome hardship solely through their own hard work, determination, and self-reliance, without needing external aid.
