Mental health and San Francisco

perhaps the proximity to America's most popular suicide spot, the Golden Gate bridge? maybe that's chicken and egg. also high availability of crystal meth.

leamas said:

perhaps the proximity to America's most popular suicide spot, the Golden Gate bridge? maybe that's chicken and egg. also high availability of crystal meth.

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bingo

Have you guys seen The Bridge? I found it... not as stirring as I was led to believe, but some of the footage was incredible.

This looks great. No chance that it's available on netflix, is there?

nomadologist said:

This looks great. No chance that it's available on netflix, is there?

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It should be, it's in pretty wide release on DVD.

Gavin said:

Have you guys seen The Bridge? I found it... not as stirring as I was led to believe, but some of the footage was incredible.

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Yes, it was an interesting one. I found it very moving in parts - the young guy who survived his jump trying to reconcile himself with his mental illness for example. I agree that it was very well shot. I don't think it offered much of an insight into the larger questions about suicide, of course the people interviewed all have their own explanations which are based on their knowledge of the dead, but I do think (for once) that an academic or medical viewpoint would have added some context. Still, I was glad I saw it.

zhao said:

i think it entirely possible. i've also heard, not from reliable source at all mind you, that in places with significantly more wind mental illness rates are higher.

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I remember reading something about that, possibly tying it into strong winds in Catalonia that resulted in a higher rate of mental illness? That could be completely false, though.

i was in san francisco last summer and i read something about how their liberal population lead to them somewhat taking one for the team in terms of the homeless/crazy population,since basically at a time when other cities were doing their best to get rid of homeless people san francisco had a reputation for not being so harsh on them,and also the liberal demographics there made it an easier city for homeless people to get by in,both in terms of being tolerated and services being provided for them.

i was also in sacramento,the capital of california,where appearently the local business heads at some stage in the nineties had an offer where any homeless person would be bought a one way ticket to anywhere in america so long as they promised not to come back. there were noticably less homeless people there,i also read that there was a similar initiative in atlanta before the olympics were held there.