Apologies for being morbid (pun intended) but just read in today's Times that the death rate over the last year has surged by 5%. That's an extra 600 deaths a week over the average for the previous 10 years, and its primarily in the over 65's and especially those in their 80s. "Experts" are conveniently blaming this on "austerity", although if there is a single reason it isn't known. I think people are simply gently and quietly giving up, recognising that a life without quality in a world where there is little respect and above all little time to reflect and learn, where we are told everything is important when nothing actually is, perhaps is too dull to bother with, especially if you have already lived a good life. Could be the plot line of a novel JG Ballard never got the time to write. I should stress that my cynicism is mainly restricted to public life, the media, organised political and religious movements etc. Everyday I see countless examples of kindness, courtesy and grace from individuals. The blokes rebuilding the back of my house (bathroom replacement gone out of control) are good lads and obsessed with quality, I'm deeply impressed. (I remember we had a feisty discussion about beverages for people working in your home a few weeks ago - we give these guys a cool box stuffed with soft drinks and water everyday, tea and coffee - just yell, and my wife bought them cup cakes yesterday). Personally I'm looking forward to 10 years of active retirement (if I'm lucky) and when the pain/infirmity kicks in I will probably drive at great speed into John Terry. While he is in his living room.
especially those in their 80s think you might have the answer there what was life expectancy 50 years ago
Entirely agree about the quality of life, SB...but surely the death rate of the over 65's is going to be 100%... and on a weekly basis, it could be because the population has risen
Kiwi, if you apply that logic and regress back through time we should all be dying in our 40's. Goldie, if the reason is simply statistical/demographics, then my already low estimation of journalists is reinforced. I'm reading this as 600 more people are dying than statistics and demographic trends would predict are dying.
I spoke to my wife ( pharmacy assistant ) about this thread and comment was made of how many people ( all ages but especially the elderly ) were on anti-depressants. My wife also commented on how this number was increasing all the time. Further comments were that many of these people owned their house and were quite comfortable, so to speak. I can only surmise that their quality of life is far from what is perceived. All this from just a small suburb ................. multiplied by city numbers then country and you can see the knock effect relating in the numbers that you spoke of. Very disturbing.
I think I was saying that more people are living into their 80s mostly from the same generation a very modern occurance so we should probably expect spikes in deaths
I'm no statistician, but surely they should apply that to a band, rather than open-ended over 65. Anyway, as I say, the quality of life point is well made. I was interested to read from the latest report of the Office of National Statistics that a man who lives in Dorset or Hampshire will live on average ten years longer (to 83) than a man in Blackpool or Manchester. Must be mostly lifestyle presumably
Colder winters (and now a warmer summer) wont help when old people would literally choose to freeze to death than keep warm. Perhaps the NHS is overloaded with old people and as such probably cant treat them as they did before.
which is the same as Caldon in Glasgow (at least a couple of years ago). Male life expectancy lower than in the Gaza Strip. Moscow & Caldon - diet, drugs, alcohol in common. At least the Muscovites can add properly chilly winters to the mix.
Has anybody noticed how many appalling crimes appear to be committed by people on prescribed anti-depressants? Is it that these people already have a propensity to (for instance) murder and that the anti-depressants are therefore coincidental, or that the anti-depressants somehow tip the balance towards such activity?
Share the numbers Uber. Pretty sure this is a myth. You do see horrible crimes committed by people who have not been taking their anti-psychotic medications, but these are very rare but very high profile as they tend to be random and in public places. Either way, not responsible for the mystery extra 600 deaths a week. Disappointed in Flyer's response, was expecting a much grander conspiracy theory with the CIA at the heart of it.
Frankly, I think that life just seems a bit sh*t these days, especially for the elderly. Basic civility has nosedived, the environment gets worse by the day, the economy is on a steady but seemingly inevitable path downhill. Optimism about the future must be about as low as it ever has done in history. I think a lot of people just give up. And on top of that, Gary Hooper has just blown us out for Norwich...
It could be that simply the statasticians did not predict that there would be as many people living well into their 80's as there are now and they are therefore "surprised" that there are more deaths than they thought there would be as there is a bigger pool of people in that demographic age range....
The side effects of them make a big number of people psychotic. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=anti depressants murders
Its a shame I can't post the article. But my reading of it is that there are an average of 600 more people dying every month this year than there were last year. That's not a statistical error or oversight. It looks like I may be one of them...after discovering that a large part of my roof was supported by thin air, builders today have found out that the floor struts are riddled with dry rot and aren't properly tied in to the wall anyway.....
Good God Stan......sounds like one of those stories you see on some "Cowboy Builders" programme on Channel 5.....Hang in there it does get better, I should know as we have spent the last 2 years doing a complete re-build....it is just a big black hole when it comes to money and unfortuately when you start there is no going back.....
I have no numbers, Stan, it was merely an observation following reports I've read in papers, hence the use of "has anybody noticed", "appear" and setting it out as a question rather than a statement of fact. I don't believe I suggested it had anything to do with the 600 deaths either. T'was merely going off on a tangent from anti-depressants.
Sorry mate, my post was a bit blunt because I'm in the pharmaceutical business and its the sort of thing the media make a mountain out of nothing of. So yes I do notice these stories and always think - well, you are still much more likely to be killed by a member of your immediate family than someone with mental health problems........and I was just trying to drag the thread back to the 600 deaths..... In the interests of balance no drugs are side effect free, and anti-depressants and anti-psychotics at best relieve symptoms, they don't cure diseases we barely understand.
