"Having been under pressure from the cash crunch since August last year from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, I worked hard to have my investors at least recover their principal. I feel sorry to my friends for failing to achieve that. I'd like to pay my debt back by death."

Those were the words a 55-year old South Korean asset manager wrote before he killed himself in a Seoul hotel room last fall. Financial pressure. Regret. Failure. Suicide.

Sadly, it's a pattern repeating itself in many other financiers' lives around the globe during this economic downturn. Earlier this week, the German billionaire Adolf Merckle ended his struggle to emerge from massive corporate debts with the decision to throw himself in front of a train. And yesterday, Steven Good, a well-known real estate executive from Chicago, gave into the pressure by turning a gun on himself.

It's the same story we've heard over and over since this crisis began. The laid off Bear Stearns banker leaps from a Manhattan building, the London-based investment manager jumps in front of a high-speed commuter train, the French hedge fund investor slits his wrists after finding out his clients' investments in Bernie Madoff's fund had vanished overnight.
And it's not just the suicides of the rich making headlines. Foreclosed homes, lost jobs, and depleted savings accounts are driving too many people to take their lives.

But are suicides actually on the rise, or are merely the reports of suicides on the rise? This question has been studied and debated for decades by historians, researchers, academics and mental health professionals. Studies showing rising suicide rates during times of economic recessions are consistently conflicted by studies that prove the opposite.

We know that the stories of stockbrokers jumping from skyscraper windows on Black Monday were nothing more than urban myths. But we also know that suicide rates did rise dramatically during the years following the stock market crash of 1929. Indeed, the highest rate of self-inflicted deaths in the U.S. occurred in 1933, the same year the unemployment rate reached an all-time high of 25 percent.

The American Association of Suicidology recently released a statement underscoring that, while suicide rates have shown no clear association with times of economic recession, there is a clear relationship between suicide and unemployment. Stressful life events can lead to suicide, and the trade group is particularly concerned about the potential effect the rising foreclosure rates could have on the psyche of the most vulnerable homeowners.

Whatever the historical statistics show, there is ample anecdotal evidence that the economic hardships many individuals are facing today can lead to depression, and depression can lead to suicide. Suicide hotlines in a number of states have reported significant increases in call volume. The World Health Organization warned last fall that many countries could see a rise in suicides and mental health illnesses.

The recent reports of financially linked suicides around the globe should be enough to make everyone look out for potential signs of suicide among those most affected by the financial crisis. Because financial debts should never be paid back by death.