I may get down voted for this but I wonder if this is partly due to the false hype that is associated with being a software developer in Silicon Valley. Young kids with stars in their eyes go out there thinking they are going to hit it big with their startup or working for a hot startup only to discover it is not so easy.<p>It would be interesting to see stats of suicides or attempted suicides for tech workers in Silicon Valley vs other areas. If much higher in SF to the ratio of workers then that should be something to look at.