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Days after the suicide of renowned fashion designer Kate Spade, chef and world-traveling TV storyteller Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a hotel room in France, another apparent suicide. Ms. Spade was 55, Mr. Bourdain was 61, and the tragedy of their lives cut short by their own hands was difficult for many of their admirers to accept or comprehend. But their deaths should serve to highlight suicide as a serious and growing public-health problem that demands attention and action. (6/10)

How can it be that people as accomplished, famous, wealthy, and popular as Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade would take their own lives? This was the question on many minds as the country was rocked by the two celebrity suicides and a devastating report by the Centers for Disease Control that suicide rates are up yet again. Some of the puzzlement has to do with a misunderstanding about what leads to suicide.  Most people think of suicide as a catastrophic reaction to a stressful event. Whether it is a marital, financial, legal or academic problem, the lore goes, the person cannot deal with it and takes their own life. But that is far from accurate. After all, most of us are beset by stressors. Often. And while suicide rates continue to climb at an alarming pace, the vast majority of people do not turn to suicide when faced with a problem, no matter how devastating or overwhelming. (Maria A. Oquendo, 6/10)

In Massachusetts, middle-aged men from 35 to 65 account for the largest number of suicide deaths, in part because they’re less likely to seek help. State health officials have set up massmen.org and stocked it with tools allowing “working-age men” to share stories and take a self-assessment test. The breakdown by race highlighted by the CDC also cries out for further study. By far the highest rate of self-inflicted deaths per capita occurs among non-Hispanic whites. At the same time, the rate for Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks also rose in 2015 and 2016.These numbers should serve as a warning for states, which administer public health programs, and for the federal government, which funds them. Precision medicine has transformed cancer research. A precision approach to mental and behavioral health, which matches people at risk with treatment targeted to their needs, is a necessary next step in suicide prevention. (6/8)

A bipartisan, apolitical task force should start looking more deeply into ways in which our country can better support those who are suffering from depression. In January, President Trump issued an executive order directing the VA, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to collaborate to provide access to mental health care and suicide prevention resources for Veterans, particularly during the first year after separation from service.This will assist one important segment of our population in battling the ill effects of depression, but the rest of the country needs assistance as well. Voids in health insurance policies continue to prevent people from obtaining the specific mental health treatment they need. (Blake Shuart, 6/11)