CR5 Issue 160 Sept 2018

Health By
Alison Runham www.alison.runham.co.uk
Men, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Suicide is on the rise worldwide.
According to the World Health
Organization, it’s the second
leading cause of death among
15-29-year-olds and nearly 800,000
people die due to suicide every
year; that’s one suicide every 40
seconds. There are also around 20
times as many failed attempts.
These worrying statistics make
World Suicide Prevention Day on
September 10th more important
than ever – but there are steps we
can take to tackle the problem.
Suicide Risk Factors
Men are at significantly higher
risk than women and suicide is
the leading cause of death among
men under 50. Statistics from The
British Psychological Society show
that men aged 20-29 and 40-49 are
most at risk.
The Movember Foundation, which
works to raise awareness of men’s
health issues, has concluded that
men’s reluctance to openly discuss
their health and feelings or take
action when they’re unwell,
coupled with the stigmas still
surrounding mental health, are
two of the chief reasons why
men’s life expectancy remains
significantly lower than women’s.
The damaging stereotype of the
physically and mentally ‘tough’
‘real man’ is to blame for much of
men’s reluctance to express their
feelings and seek help, as they fear
being labelled weak.
The biggest risk factor for suicide
is a previous suicide attempt, but
what drives people to attempt it?
The WHO points out that while
there are clear links between
suicide and mental disorders
(including alcohol use disorders),
many suicides happen impulsively
in moments of crisis.
A trauma, relationship break-up,
financial problems or chronic pain
and
illness can cause high levels of
stress that may suddenly overwhelm
us and seem too much to
cope with.
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Experiencing conflict, disaster,
violence, abuse, or loss and a
sense of isolation are also strongly
associated with suicidal behaviour,
and suicide rates are also high
amongst groups who experience
discrimination, such as refugees,
migrants, indigenous peoples,
prisoners and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex
people.
So, what can we do to prevent
suicide on a personal level and as
a society?
Suicide Prevention
• We need to tackle discrimination
and damaging stereotypes.
The boy who is brought up to
believe he mustn’t cry or admit
he’s stressed; the girl who hides
her true sexual orientation
because she’s grown up hearing
gay people ridiculed; the migrant
shunned by work colleagues
– they’re all at higher risk of
isolation and depression, and so
at higher risk of suicide. It can
be tough to tackle this kind of
discrimination among family,
friends and colleagues, but it’s
important we do so.
• We need to tackle the stigmas
surrounding mental health.
We can do this by challenging
negative attitudes and ensuring
that in our words and actions,
we treat mental illness as just as
valid and important as physical
illness, acknowledging how
closely they are related.
Maggie Warrell, founder of
Global Courage, recently wrote
for Forbes about losing her
brother to suicide and the role
we must all play in tackling it.