🚀 go-pugleaf

other figures showing chemists in general are high suicide risks,
as are women doctors and nurses.  Most female chemists kill themselves
with cyanide.
					BOB

I always heard that dentists have a problem with suicide, too.  It's
a pretty boring job.  Plus you spend the whole day in people's mouths.

I was in chemistry for a while--long enough to realize how boring it
can be.  Plus you have the means--available poisons.  Nurses and doctors
probably have the same sort of reason--access to the means.

Along somewhat different lines... (After all, what is this newsgroup
for if not digressions.)  I had thoughts of suicide as a teenager.
I always considered that fairly universal.  In talking to friends at
college, I found most of them agreed.  However when I worked at a
factory, welding car seats, I found out in a conversation that all
of my fellow workers not only had never thought of suicide (or wouldn't
admit it), but thought that the idea was sick.  They didn't see how
a fairly normal teenager could even consider it.

Is there a cultural thing at work here?  (i.e. middle-class intellectuals
vs. blue-collar workers)  Is suicide and thoughts of it (especially in
adolescence) connected with later college attendence, and therefore 
certain professions?  Is it an intellectual growth stage?  (My fellow
workers were not unintelligent, in fact I respected their basic common
sense--but they did not share my orientation on many things.  I was odd 
in lots of ways to them.)

-- 

                                     Sue Brezden
                                     ihnp4!drutx!slb

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      To search for perfection is all very well,
      But to look for heaven is to live here in hell.   
                                       --Sting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~