Uptick In Suicides Blamed On The Economy

The news that famed 68-year-old movie director Tony Scott ended his own life Sunday brings the issue of suicide to the forefront. There are the inevitable questions: Why would someone with so much success feel like life was no longer worth living? While his suicide note hasn't been released, it's likely his livelihood wasn't the issue (ABC News reported that the director had inoperable brain cancer.)

Yet a slew of recent reports say there's been an uptick of adult suicides throughout the U.S. and Europe -- with the lagging economy being blamed. This of course isn't a new phenomenon. As a recent study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development notes, the image of the financially ruined committing suicide by jumping out of buildings is one closely tied to the Great Depression.