A reader writes:
Currently the most popular location for suicide might be Aokigahara, also known as "the Sea of Trees", at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Aokigahara had 54 suicides in 2010. The Golden Gate Bridge is probably second. Of course, the real most popular place to kill oneself is at home.
Another points a "fascinating segment in a This American Life episode that featured a bridge in China famous as a suicide spot." Another reader:
Interesting fact: the large majority of jumpers do so from the side facing the city as opposed to the side facing the sea. Even to the last, we prefer a good view.
Another illustrates that point by pointing to this graphic of where people have jumped from the bridge. Update from a reader:
The observation that jumpers go almost exclusively off the bay-facing side is correct, but probably not for the reason they suggested. The ocean-facing walkway is reserved exclusively for bicyclists, so all of the pedestrian traffic is on the bay side.
Another:
I remember reading a gut wrenching story on Golden Gate Bridge jumpers in The New Yorker back in 2003. At the time, only 26 had ever survived a Golden Gate jump. Bateson's statistics make their testimony even more arresting:
Baldwin was twenty-eight and severely depressed on the August day in 1985 when he told his wife not to expect him home till late. "I wanted to disappear," he said. "So the Golden Gate was the spot. I’d heard that the water just sweeps you under." On the bridge, Baldwin counted to ten and stayed frozen. He counted to ten again, then vaulted over. "I still see my hands coming off the railing," he said. As he crossed the chord in flight, Baldwin recalls, "I instantly realized that everything in my life that I’d thought was unfixable was totally fixable—except for having just jumped."
Another:
One late evening, I stumbled upon the documentary "The Bridge", a film about suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge. The filmmaker had trained his camera on the bridge for a year and tracked down family members of those who had jumped.
I'm not one to really want to watch these kinds of very dark films, but I could not look away. The sorrow expressed by family members juxtaposed with scenes of their loved-ones contemplating jumping, many for hours before they climb over the edge and jump, was gripping. Incredibly sad. I too wondered, "Why is it so easy for people to just climb over the edge?" Their mental efforts to make themselves do it were clearly monumental; the physical effort, barely any at all.
A clip from the documentary is seen above. The full film is viewable on YouTube.
The Dish 