That’s not true, Tom. Because suicide was so prominent and affected almost everyone in one way or other, people knew suicide was a huge issue. They just didn’t talk about it.
Rubbish. People said it to me.
Even when my neighbour’s teenage son committed suicide, people said it was a one-off event as suicides just didn’t happen here.
I suppose ignorance is bliss.
I’ll tell you what could help with filtering the BS: less/none social media e.g. X, FB, Insta, Reddit etc etc. Actually, don’t read/watch the news either.
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In our area a kid at my son’s school took his own life a few years ago. Nobody discussed it with a single journalist to protect the affected family. Beyond the basic perfunctory info, the press got nothing.
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Yes, I can appreciate that.
But I’m sure that you can also appreciate that if that is the norm, then other people may come to the conclusion that young people don’t commit suicide in Switzerland.
Which they do.
But it was reported. The difference here is that people don’t tend to gossip, especially to the press. Had that been in the UK, it would have been an intrusive hatchet job by the tabloids wheedling their way into the private lives of anyone vaguely connected.
A quick google through Swiss news publications suggests that suicide rates in Switzerland are a frequently covered topic.
That chimes with what I have been hearing that mental health services here have been severely stretched since covid (I know a child psychiatrist who is constantly under pressure with full books). Nobody is under any illusion that kids don’t have mental health issues which sometimes lead to suicide or at least an attempt.
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There seems to be an urban myth developing that ICE car exhausts are no longer lethal. This is not so. The catalytic converter reduces the CO levels considerably so instead of causing rapid unconsciousness, modern exhaust fumes will cause you to suffocate presumably in some discomfort.
That is again simply not true. Switzerland is a small country. People know. People talk. But people also want to show respect to the family.
I’m telling you that I have experience of it.
Are you calling me a liar? Because that is what it seems like to me.
As for parents not talking about it. I’m not sure it is solely with respect for the family.
From reading articles about it, there is a stigma attached to it and it is common other people to to blame the parents for it.
Who would want that on top of the death of their child?
On a practical level, if anyone feels their child needs help, there is an up-to-date article here with some links of places to get practical help.
Use Google translate for English
Thank you, Tom. Mental issues among children and teenagers are on the rise. Help is available.
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I think the point is that experiences vary. There are no right or wrong points of view.
Just because people tend not to discuss their family’s ongoing mental health issues with the wider community doesn’t mean they are denying its existence.
My experience is that a community rallies to support each other in an unimaginable tragedy but tactfully minds its own business otherwise. YMMV.
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You know, there are Swiss people and…Swiss people. Your neighbour seems to belong to one special category - nothing remotely bad can happen in Heidi land and if it happens it must be a damned auslander. How old are these people btw?
I know a lot of things from my neighbours who are far away from being ignorant, so I think the ones you mentioned are a tad “special”.
And to those that believe Swiss people don’t gossip - if they don’t include you in their gossiping it doesn’t mean they don’t gossip. Oh, they do…but they also think it’s not their business to run to newspapers etc.
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That’s reasonable.
At the same time, this is telling “the topic you’ve never heard people talking about” is present in people’s thoughts. From an empirical perspective, it’s the same as telling the thing you’ve never seen does exist, have faith.
Some news from Netherlands. Article in Dutch, use online translation by paragraph.
The Swiss police requested that the house in Netherlands of the inventor of the Sarco thingy was visited to gather evidence. So, Dutch police recovered papers and computers. At some point the material will be transported to Switzerland for analysis.
And…some info not published in CH:
Shortly after the American woman died in the Sarco, several people were arrested. For example, the police arrested director Florian Willet of The Last Resort, the only person present at the time of the death. The police also decided to arrest two Swiss lawyers and a Volkskrant photographer. They were held in prison for two days. Director Willet is still in custody.
Nitschke and his wife Fiona Stewart, lawyer and director of The Last Resort, were in Germany at the time of the death. In order to limit legal risks, they followed the process surrounding the capsule remotely.
It is unknown whether Switzerland has requested the extradition of Nitschke or Stewart. Their lawyer Tim Vis says he has no indications of this. ‘It seems too early to speculate about that.’
According to lawyer Vis, Nitschke and Stewart are shocked by the reaction of the Swiss justice system, but expect it to end well. ‘Philip and Fiona have had their actions legally reviewed for decades. That has also happened here. They are well prepared. They are confident that this falls within the limits of Swiss law.’
The pre-trial detention of director Willet was extended by three months. A search of his home was also conducted. The police seized several items. Willet is suspected of inciting suicide and providing assistance in this.
According to Willet’s lawyer Urs Späti, his client is ‘completely innocent’. ‘There was nothing illegal about this’, he says. Späti states that the Swiss justice system always starts an investigation after an assisted suicide. ‘Although I have never experienced this intensity before.’ According to Späti, Willet ‘certainly did not’ do this to get rich. ‘I don’t know what he earned. In fact, I don’t know if he earned anything at all.’
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It will be up to the local police to decide if they wish to prosecute and up to the Swiss court to decide if a crime was committed.
By the way, I wonder where the Tesla is now?