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Education

1.5 times higher suicide rate

Financial services representatives (predominately those
involved in selling aspects) rank among what Mental
Health Daily (http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/01/06/top-
11-professions-with-highest-suicide-rates/) reported are
among the top five professions that have a suicide rate
1.5 times higher than the suicide rate for individuals
in most other professions. "The finance industry is
full of people making a lot of money, yet consistently
has above average suicide rates," Mental Health Daily
stated. "It is thought that among those who work in the
financial industry, the suicide rate is approximately 1.51
times that of an average worker."

While this section of the article goes more into the
equity trading side of the financial services industry,
our space is included within this metric, as we operate
on the debt financing side, which can be just as stressful
(if not more) as the equity trading side.
Additional research has shown that other mental health
disorders run rampant among those working in the
financial services industry. Among them are depression
(the most common); psychogenic pain disorders related
to high levels of stress; post-traumatic stress disorders;
and panic disorders.
A July 7, 2015, MarketWatch Inc. article by Quentin
Fottrell covered this issue and highlighted how many
individuals in the financial services industry are
turning to drugs and alcohol to help them cope with
high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other
mental health conditions.
The article discussed Thomas Hughes, who at the age
of 29, jumped to his death from the 24th floor of his
apartment building in Manhattan. Individuals who
knew Hughes said he was dealing with significant
amounts of stress and other pressures, and he turned
to certain types of drugs and alcohol to help him cope.
The article also discusses Sarvshreshth Gupta, a
22-year-old analyst found dead in a parking lot beneath
his apartment building. MarketWatch stated, "Although
the media does focus on people who, at least on paper,
appear to have it all, experts say this is also a reminder
that depression doesn't discriminate. While suicide
rates overall remain lower among those who have more
education, there have been reports of a dozen such
cases of suicide of white-collar workers who worked for
high-profile financial firms.
"Among the professions with suicide rates 1.5 times
or more than the rest of the population are doctors,
dentists, veterinarians, financial workers, lawyers, and
engineers, according to the CDC National Occupational
Mortality Surveillance Database."

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