Why is the rate of suicide and mental illness going up?

While I'm no professional by any means, I believe the downside to a connected world (Something I find to be a blessing otherwise), is it adds more stress and a lack of self worth. With the ability to see millions of interactions, it's hard not to compare yourself to others. Whether that's in regards to prettier pictures than the ones you post, seeing others with more/better skills, or witnessing relationships you wish you may have had, I think the added social connection can cause some of us to become lonelier. Previous comments have made true points, however. Working longer hours raises peoples stress levels as well, which may be a contribution to the higher suicide rates. For those with depression as a true disease, however, it is sadly a unavoidable fact of life. Count the things in your life that make you happy, and don't feel embarrassed to be yourself or to participate in hobbies that make you happy. The only person who truly matters at the end of the day is you.

"It's sad. The world is sad and very complicated. I wish it wasn't." -Shaun, "The Good Doctor" https://youtu.be/BNngyWPtNUg

There are more people, and more stereotypes than ever before. We live in a consumer based society, with a dwindling sense of self sufficiency leading to more dependency. That goes toward the emotional state of individuals as well. Suicide rates will only continue to increase, especially in in 1st World and 2nd World Countries. With that being said, you have to factor in all the problems we have in society today. With technology, and all the good amenities associated with; equally you have festering drug problems, rampant abuse of all kinds, decadence, and all sorts of crime. Which further sets the conditions for people that have seen the flip side of life to grow up with the thought of killing themselves. So many varying factors to put in here, too long to list. My only advice is for people to really introspect about themselves as individuals.

On a more light hearted take of this question, I'd say that the demons in the astral plane are due to arrive soon on the planet, and the increase in suicide are the workings of the demons' dark arts, thus a hero must arise to combat it. On a more serious note, it is most likely due to the way society has evolved. We were all once just hunters and gatherers and a person who didn't have a place died early due to the elements or deprivation. As society evolved, humans gained more free time to change the structures of society. This caused gaps to form for those who did not fit in and since humans were now in a lap of luxury deprivation or the elements would not suffice to off these poor unfortunate souls. This increased the load on the human mind of those unfortunates and thus we have the results as they are today. FYI--- This is just a very brief summary. If I had more time, I could gather some research and peers to come up with at least a 45 page report and a 2 hour presentation.

In ancient times even nowadays,mental issues like depression weren't paid enough attention to by people.People might think "that person was just somewhat sad, nothing serious".On a side note, people who had hysteria were often regarded to be wizards/witches.

Is it bad that I don't think suicide is always a bad thing? I mean it shouldn't be an answer to depressed people who are mental. What about people who are terminally ill? If you have stage X of some disease and there's no cure or recovery in sight and you're pretty much in the hospital waiting to die, should you have enough control over your life to decide when to end it or should you always fight? I think that situation should be a case by case thing but overall I believe you should have the power to choose in those extreme situations. Also, kamikaze people are considered heroes in certain cultures, not just Japan. Are they cowards or what?