Suicide Awareness Month

September is Suicide Awareness Month in the UK, spreading out about World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10th September (https://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/our-campaig….

In 2015 6,639 people committed suicide in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Most of them were men between the ages of 21 and 49. 75% of the people who successfully took their lives were male, while 25% were women. This isn't to say that more men than women attempted to take their lives, but the methods men use tend to be far more extreme and, sadly, are far more likely to succeed. It's important that we don't confuse the number of successes (and it feels horrific to describe them that way) with the number of attempts In fact, the numbers of women making attempts while the male rate has largely remained the same. That being said, it's still true that half of all male deaths in the UK under the age of 49 are the result of suicide. 50%. That's a truly sobering figure.

One person in fifteen will make a suicide attempt at some point in their lives.

If you feel suicidal please seek help, and please think twice about whether your life is as bad as your brain tells you.

If you know someone who might commit suicide please give them the time and patience they need. Please be kind to them and cut them some slack. Don't say to 'man up' or 'pull yourself together' because you don't know what's going on inside them.

Life gets hard for everyone, it costs nothing to show compassion to those of us who are struggling.