Suicides a concern in Illinois during COVID-19 pandemic – Center Square

With high unemployment and an economy ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, some first responders said calls for suicide attempts are becoming far too familiar. “Historically, increases in rates of severe mental illnesses have often followed in the aftermath of national crisis," Dr. James Lake wrote. "For example, during the decade of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1929, the suicide rate rose from 13.9 to 17.4 per 100,000.”