We both lived on the second floor of a four-unit house.

I didn't even hear the gunshot as I was in the shower.

I learned about his death when the Police rang my unit.

It still makes no sense. He was a very nice guy.

Very obviously a hard-working guy, both on the job and in the home.

His wife commented to me--more than once--how he truly made every effort to make her and the kids happy.

Obviously, his family hid the truth behind his death in order to have a religious ceremony and to allow him to be buried in an Islamic cemetery.

What a horrible shock. That poor family.

It's awful they decide that suicide is the only way. 🙏 My step brother committed suicide and nobody knew why. So awful 😞

so sorry for his family and their dogs. (And YOU of course, MissMillie.)

We never know the extreme problems many are facing.

"Understanding the complex issue of male suicide in America
It's a misconception to attribute male suicide in America to a single "greatest reason". The tragic reality is that suicide is a complex issue driven by a combination of interconnected factors, rather than a single cause.
Here's a breakdown of the key factors involved:
1. Acute stressors

A UCLA study found that approximately 60% of male suicides were not primarily linked to diagnosed mental health conditions, but rather to sudden impulsive reactions to intense stressful situations.
Common acute stressors include relationship problems (breakups, divorce, arguments), legal difficulties, job loss, or other personal crises.

2. Access to lethal means

A significant contributing factor in male suicides, particularly in those without a known mental health history, is the use of firearms.
Firearms have a high fatality rate (around 83%) in suicide attempts, according to Big Think.

3. Untreated mental health conditions

Although a direct link isn't found in all cases, untreated mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, are recognized as major risk factors for suicide.
Men are often less likely to seek professional help for mental health issues due to societal expectations and stigma surrounding masculinity.
Men may also express depression differently (e.g., anger, irritability, risk-taking) than women, leading to misdiagnosis or overlooking of symptoms.

4. Substance abuse

There's a strong correlation between problematic substance use (alcohol and/or drugs) and suicidal behavior.
Men may turn to alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism, which can worsen feelings of hopelessness and increase impulsivity.

5. Social and cultural factors

Societal expectations that encourage men to be strong and self-reliant, discouraging vulnerability and help-seeking, contribute to the issue.
Social isolation, particularly during life transitions (e.g., job changes, divorce) or in rural areas, can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and despair.
Economic factors, including unemployment and financial strain, also play a role, particularly in middle-aged men.

In conclusion
While there's no single reason, it's clear that acute stressful situations, often involving relationship issues, legal problems, or job loss, combined with easier access to firearms are significant contributing factors to the tragic rate of male suicide in America.
Addressing this complex issue requires a multi-pronged approach that focuses on mitigating acute stressors, promoting responsible firearm ownership, encouraging help-seeking behavior in men, and challenging harmful societal norms that discourage emotional expression and vulnerability.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please seek immediate help. You can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or visit Psychiatry.org for resources. "

I've been close to two suicides and the shock and grief can take a while to truly set in. I'm sure you want to help your neighbors any way that you can, but you also need to give yourself some grace and time to process this, as well.

Sending hopes that the Mom and adult kids get the help they need. Hopefully they will make arrangements for the doggies. Pets can provide an immeasurable amount of comfort in situations like this.

The accelerated transfer of wealth under the current "administration" can only be exacerbating feelings of hopelessness. Not saying that was the motivating factor for your neighbor, but it would be one of the prominent stressors for many families trying to scrape by.

people around suicide.

People are so fed up with companies like United Healthcare that I think Democrats could run successfully on this issue, especially by describing it as a transition allowing those with employer-sponsored plans to continue them. I’m convinced that eliminating Medicaid and incorporating its recipients into Medicare would eliminate a lot of administrative costs for both states and the federal government. Medicare is not free, and it already has different premiums for higher income folks. That policy could continue with graduated rates for poor. Fighting the for-profit medical insurance companies to enact such a program will be the challenge.

lack of healthcare coverage for all in this country. How many more lives will we lose because of this situation in American Healthcare?

The Republicons won't do shit to get us where we really need to be regarding healthcare. The Democrats are leaning that way, but not fully committed to go all the way. Why, I'll never know.

Since the Democrats, or a third party, are the only ones that will get us to the goal line, I suggest we make social changes and put our money in one basket, or the other....... Ya know......GO ALL IN. I personally prefer the Dems to do this.

IMO, the Dems policies need to be more progressive and get more buy in. We have to start helping people, not destroying them. We have a lot of people to convince that going further left will save the country, and our democracy. How we do this I do not know. So many have tried and failed. And yet status quo will never win again. Real change is REQUIRED. And it needs to start NOW.

We've now seen what the right wants to do. The first 6 months have been horrendous, with 3.5 years more to go. Maybe more, if he gets his way.

I wish I knew a steadfast way to fix this issue.

The treatment of people seeking help in this society includes cops who shoot first and ask questions later, strip searches, forced drugs, forced incarceration, fraud, and sexual abuse of teenagers.
No way.
I’ve seen a man teetering on a median of a busy intersection, looked at a family member in the car, and mutually agreed that he was better off taking his chances with traffic than taking chances by calling the police..
I’ve read articles about teen girls in Texas being given a cocktail of psychoactive drugs for a couple of years, intended to keep them passive and easily controlled, when there was really nothing wrong that required drugs at all. Routinely drugging immigrant children at Shiloh center outside of Houston. What in any of this inspires trust??

For-profit institutions want to keep people inside as long as possible.

Mental health apps are selling the data.

Teenagers aren’t “allowed to have a bad day”. More than 100,000 are being given two or more psychotropic drugs. Poor girl in this story was given 6, and felt like she was ‘crawling out of her skin’.

I'll never forget the split feelings I had, as a result---half of me in mourning over losing a relative I was close to for years; the other half of me absolutely furious with him, for what he did to my family.

This was a while ago (at least 15 years ago) but our neighbor killed himself.
No spouse, no kids. I don't think he had hit 30 years old yet.

Whether the poor man's finances were actually destroyed by his policies, or whether it was more fear that they would be, I'm betting this was a factor. And he is not making mental health care any easier, either, and lack of care was almost certainly a factor.

there's no possible way you could know enough about the deceased to even guess at any of that. Suicide is complicated, and it's self-indulgent folly to blame one on your political enemies.