Week 11 Patrick Chou: The Dark Power Of the Holidays

Valentine's Day, a day associated with love and affection, frequently conjures up visions of romantic gestures like that of roses being passed out and boxes of chocolates being exchanged. However, amidst the love and passion, there is a grim reality: the link between Valentine's Day and suicide rates. In research titled "Suicide and Homicide on St. Valentine's Day" investigates this association by examining case studies and emergency response data for parasuicidal conduct, self-harm actions that did not lead to death, during this time. The study showed a rise in parasuicidal tendencies among adolescents around Valentine's Day with it being 45% higher in adolescents on Valentine's Day.



These findings underline the need for increased awareness and support, particularly for vulnerable populations such as adolescents, due to their still developing prefrontal cortex, in the run-up to Valentine's Day. In the Research it is recommended persons in contact with teenagers, such as educators, healthcare providers, and parents, must be watchful for indicators of distress or isolation.

However, it is import tant to rember these findings in the context of mental health and social dynamics. While Valentine's Day may trigger emotions of loneliness or inadequacy in certain people, it is not the only true influencing suicidal behavior. Underlying mental health concerns, marital problems, and social isolation all play important factors in determining one's susceptibility to suicide thinking and behavior. Thus the combination of multipole factors lead to the possible influx of emotion.

Furthermore, while discussing risk factors, it is critical to remember the positive parts of Valentine's Day and its possible advantages for mental health. This day acts as a reminder to couples to cherish and honor their relationship, building improve ties and emotional intimacy. Acts of kindness, gratitude, and quality time spent together can all help to increase happiness.

Furthermore, Valentine's Day celebrates all forms of love, between couples and most importantly, self-love. Embracing this inclusive attitude enables people to discover significance and joy in their connections with friends, family, and oneself.

Comments

  1. anishka jannuFebruary 21, 2024 at 12:59 PM

    Hi Patrick! I found your ideas on holidays to be eye-opening and shocking. I never viewed holidays as a negative component, and it is crazy to think that it can have such detrimental effects. However, it is understandable that people feel left out because of the exclusion in holidays. Often times, holidays target a certain group of people and do not incorporate everyone. For example, many non-Christian people do not celebrate Christmas, and many non-religious people do not celebrate Easter. Unfortunately, the US government chooses to make these days national holidays but does not offer these benefits for foreign celebrations. To compensate, some companies and professional spaces have started offering holidays to their workers so that they feel represented and acknowledged. However, this only occurs in professional companies. Sadly, most of the workforce does not get these benefits because the government does not offer them. It is important for the government to recognize the traumatic mental effects that occur in communities after they choose to restrict their holidays to certain groups of people. If the government is interested in making the country a welcoming place for people of all backgrounds, they must look towards offering holidays to celebrate all groups of people.

    I noticed that you mentioned 45% more adolescents committing suicide on Valentine’s Day than other days. This unsettling statistic is highly concerning, but it is not well known to most people. In order to change the way people view holidays, it is essential for people to bring awareness to the drastic effects they may have. You stated that people should encourage acts of kindness and gratitude. This can be very beneficial to people who feel underrepresented and undervalued in society. Although it may be hard for people to bring awareness about holidays, they can all work to be kind to their peers.

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  2. Jaiganesh NagarajanFebruary 21, 2024 at 7:38 PM

    Hey Patrick, I find your blog interesting and shocking as i did not know the statistic of suicide rates rose by 45% in adolescents on valentines day. The social aspects of holidays is one that needs to be studied as not everyone will celebrate a holiday the same way. We should try to include everyone as much as we can when it comes to making sure everyone is good and people should also check in on others from time to time to make sure they are still doing alright. Inclusion plays a big role in deciding how people feel during all these holidays and even throughout normal day to day interactions. The suicide rates in adolescents can come from exclusion and feelings of separation. These feelings are common in many people young or old, and it is important that we make sure everyone is truly doing well to make sure we keep everyone included and safe.

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  3. Daniela MarcelFebruary 21, 2024 at 9:05 PM

    Hi Patrick, I found your blog pretty interesting, I recently just read on a blog about the power of holidays. I love the different viewpoints that you guys have on the power of holidays. I also found it interesting on how the suicide rates increased by 45%, in fact I find it pretty scary that it increased. I honestly thought during holidays, the percentage of suicides would decrease since holidays bring so much joy in a persons life. I think that it would be nice if we had a holiday celebrating single or just people because of how far they've gone. Just so we could make everyone feel including, since I think some people feel isolated when they see couples on valentines day. This makes me question if this study was only done in the US since I believe that they have holidays in Asia celebrating single people. This makes the people in Asia feel more included. I see lots of people, in fact, I think that I see more people posting on singles day then posting on valentines day.

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  4. Liya AbilFebruary 21, 2024 at 9:52 PM

    Hi Patrick, it is very humorous that we both wrote our blogs centered around Valentine’s Day and holidays in general. However, while I chose the positive aspects, you chose the darker path which is extremely interesting and thought provoking. Your blog is written very well and I appreciated the juxtaposition of light hearted Valentine’s traditions like giving roses, to suicide rates and the decline of mental health caused by the same holiday. I would have never thought that a holiday could create such detrimental effects as a 45% increase in adolescent suicide rates on that day is a concerning and an extremely high amount. Although people view Valentine’s day as a way for significant others to celebrate their relationships, I think the holiday is meant to represent love as a whole. Love for family, friends, and simply yourself. This is why traditions like Galentines have emerged from Valentine’s Day. If individuals are able to focus on what they love and strengthen the emotional connections with people already in one’s life rather than the lack of a romantic relationship, one’s mood and mindset about the holiday could be improved.

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