不久前，生命在一周內給了我們一記三連擊。6月5日，我們聽聞凱特·絲蓓自殺。6月6日，美國疾病防控中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC）發布的報告顯示，自1999年美國軍醫總長官宣布自殺是可預防的公共健康危害，自殺人數上升了25%。而在6月8日，我們一醒來便是安東尼·伯爾頓結束自己生命的消息。

這樣的案例和數據令人震驚。絲蓓為崇尚超高品味的時尚產業注入了色彩與妙想，伯爾頓為忠于傳統的烹飪世界帶去了他“壞小子”式的放蕩不羈。他們的產品——手提包和美食之旅——曾為多少人帶來快樂。實在令人費解。二人怎會選擇輕生？

我們仍無法確切理解人為何會了卻自己的生命。但我們卻明白一些因素能夠增加自殺風險，包括擁有槍械、孤獨、社交孤立，以及缺乏心理健康服務。

要減少自殺人數，我們就要將槍械視作安全問題，而不只是《第二修正案》（Second Amendment）的問題。2016年，23000人使用槍械自殺。研究表明，購槍背景調查和等待期能夠顯著減少自殺。

沒有確診精神疾病的人就能擁有槍械嗎？美國疾病防控中心的報告顯示不然：因槍械而死亡的人數中，未確診精神疾病者（55%）明顯多于確診者（40%）。這表明，要挽回生命，我們必須將所有人口視作槍械安全問題的關注對象。

同時，我們必須竭力將文化層面的關注重點從名與利轉移到構建團體和聯結。心理學家和自殺學學者托馬斯·喬伊納指出，自殺的主要誘因之一是孤獨。美國的一大福祉在于，我們能成為想成為的任何人；而美國的一大悲劇在于，大多數機構——從學校到企業——都期望我們以陪伴朋友和家人的時間為代價以取得成功。

我們應該從學前教育起就關注幸福體驗，而不是等到某一名高中生說出他想死的意愿。我們想讓中小學說，“花時間陪陪家人，別光顧著作業。”我們想讓大學說，“我們更希望在你的申請材料里看到一張你與家人其樂融融的照片，而不是又一次課外實踐。”我們還想讓股東說，“加班可貴，員工與家人共度的時間同樣可貴。”我們越是與所愛之人共度時光，一旦出了任何差錯就越容易覺察到，也越容易為家人找到能提供幫助之人，并協助他們構建有意義的生命。

我們還應該讓科技服務于社會公益。這就意味著團結科技大企業，分析數據，從而判定危害的模式，并實施管控。社交網站已經學會唆使用戶購買產品。假如我們利用同一信息能夠掌握哪些誘因可以疏導輕生的苗頭，從而預防自我傷害？假如年輕群體自殺風險的增加與使用智能手機有關——正如2017年一項頗有影響的研究所指出，科技大企業就有道德義務立即與自殺預防專家展開合作，以分享數據，開發可投入市場的技術手段介入，從而預防自殺。

上周，自殺的消息影響了我們每一個人。這周，我們以自殺預防方面的努力——終究也是為希望所作的努力——向前邁進。假如您有志挽回生命，請多多留意您所愛、所關心的人們，即便他們看起來像活在夢里。請為您當地的救助熱線給予捐助。請致電您所選舉的人民代表，告訴他們要撥款于預防自殺，正如我們撥款于天花。（財富中文網）

注：喬納森·辛格是芝加哥洛約拉大學社會工作學院（Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social）的副教授，也是美國自殺學學會（American Association of Suicidology）的書記。

譯者：沈昕宇

Life handed us a one-two-three punch last week. On June 5, we learned of Kate Spade’s suicide. On June 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report showing a 25% increase in suicide deaths since 1999, the year the U.S. Surgeon General declared suicide a preventable public health problem. And on June 8, we awoke to the news that Anthony Bourdain took his own life.

The deaths and statistics were shocking. Spade added color and whimsy to a hyper-intellectual fashion industry. Bourdain brought his bad-boy irreverence to a culinary world devoted to tradition. Their products—purses and food exploration—brought joy to so many people. None of it made sense. Why did they kill themselves?

We still don’t know exactly why people die by suicide. But we do know some things that increase risk for suicide, including access to firearms, loneliness and social isolation, and inadequate mental health services.

If we’re going to reduce suicide deaths, we need to see firearms as a safety issue, not a Second Amendment issue. In 2016, 23,000 people killed themselves using a firearm. Research has shown that firearm background checks and waiting periods significantly reduce suicide.

Should we restrict gun access to those without a known mental illness? Not according to the CDC report: Significantly more people without a known mental illness (55%) died by firearm than did people with a known illness (40%). This suggests that if we want to save lives, we need to make firearm safety a population-wide issue.

We also need to shift our cultural priorities away from fame and fortune at all costs and toward community and connection. Thomas Joiner, psychologist and suicidologist, suggested that one of the main factors in suicide is loneliness. The great American promise is that we can be whatever we want to be. The great American tragedy is that most of our institutions—from schools to corporations—expect us to get there by sacrificing time with friends and family.

We need to address well-being starting in kindergarten, not wait until a high school student tells us they want to die. We need schools to say, “Spend time with family, not on homework.” We need universities to say, “We’d rather see a photo of you having a great time with your friends than another extracurricular activity on your college application.” And we need stockholders to say, “We value employee family time as much as overtime.” The more time we spend with our loved ones, the easier it is to see when things are going wrong, connect them to people who can help, and help them build lives worth living.

We need to harness technology for social good. This means partnering with tech giants to analyze data so we can identify patterns of risk and automate interruptions. Social networks have learned how to nudge users to buy products. What if we could use that information to learn which nudges redirect emerging suicide risk and prevent self-harm? If the rise in youth suicide risk is correlated with smartphone use, as an influential 2017 study suggested, there is an ethical imperative for tech giants to partner with suicide prevention experts to share data, develop scalable automated interventions, and prevent suicide.

Last week we were all affected by the tragedy of suicide. This week we move forward with the work of suicide prevention, work that is fundamentally about hope. If you are inspired to save lives, check in with people you love and care about—even if they seem like they are living the dream. Donate to your local crisis hotline. Call your representative and tell them to fund suicide prevention at the same level as we fund smallpox. There’s always something you can do, no matter how small.

Jonathan B. Singer is an associate professor at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work and the secretary for the American Association of Suicidology.