Suicide rates in Ireland

hairyprincess · 26-04-2012 05:56PM #1

486 people took their own lives in 2010 (these are the most recent figures).

386 men and 100 women. The highest numbers were between the 25-44 age bracket; 203 to be exact (42%). What is going on with our young people? How can we help them?

I'm sorry if this thread upsets people, but we can't ignore these figures. I'm sure we all know people who have committed suicide, and we are all too aware of the devastation it leaves. I lost a close friend last week, and in the last 3 weeks I have heard of five men taking their own lives, four of them in 25-44 age bracket.

With all the job losses and wage cuts people are under more and more pressure, what are the next published figures going to be like? And does anybody in authority really care?

Link to CSO statistics: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/vitalstats/2010/vstats_q42010.pdf
*Mods move if you feel the need to but I think AH is a target for this type of discussion*

Dangerous Man · 26-04-2012 06:02PM

The answer to your question is no. Nobody in government at any rate. For years now people have tried, and failed to bring attention to the bewildering fact that the Irish government will spend millions and millions each year on preventing road deaths yet does next to nil to prevent suicides.

The will isn't there.

seantorious · 26-04-2012 06:03PM

25 to 40 is generally quite a difficult time. It not a case of nobody cares, it just quite difficult to help. It just stinks of a lots of problems in society rather than one in government.
Especially in suicide one study found that of approximately 250 people who jumped in front of the tube in London and survived only 10% intended to do it before arriving at the station.

Sky King · 26-04-2012 06:03PM

In fairness it's getting a lot more exposure than it used to.

Not enough by any means but I have noticed moreso these days that there's work being done to clear this awful stigma that is associated with depression and mental illness and raise awareness that yes lots of people get it and yes lots of people can get treated for it, and there's always a way out.

chin_grin · 26-04-2012 06:04PM

So you could say the government creates depression (through their bad decisions) and depression causes suicide so the government is (in a way) killing us?

As far as I know Depression charities\helplines like Aware are getting a lot more active of late (saw a good few ads about). So at least that's some respite to know that there's help available, it's just making that first step.

Also, sorry for your loss OP.

Battered Mars Bar · 26-04-2012 06:07PM

Bertie was pro suicide I believe

Robdude · 26-04-2012 06:08PM

Ummm isn't this down from 2005 and 2009?

I'm not saying it's a good thing that anyone commits suicide - but this thread makes it sound like a new and/or rising epidemic.

xzanti · 26-04-2012 06:10PM

Dangerous Man wrote: »

The answer to your question is no. Nobody in government at any rate. For years now people have tried, and failed to bring attention to the bewildering fact that the Irish government will spend millions and millions each year on preventing road deaths yet does next to nil to prevent suicides.

The will isn't there.

I believe that, unfortunately the recent spate of suicides is just a symptom of everything else that's going on in his country.. Yes, there are other factors and people will do it for various different reasons.. but the increase of late has a lot to do with the economic situation.. and hopefully when or indeed IF it is ever resolved, the numbers will then decrease again in time.. hopefully!

In the meantime, yes I think more needs to be done.. I think the Banks should bare more responsibility when it comes to dealing with people 'on the edge'.. i.e. when Joe Blogs comes to discuss his mortgage crisis, he should be met by bank workers who have been trained to be more understanding and sympathetic.. and who are aware that they are dealing with someone who is under a lot of pressure.. instead of pushing them further into the darkness.

cloud493 · 26-04-2012 06:10PM

Well when the government still aren't funding places like pieta house, does make you wonder.

mickrock · 26-04-2012 06:12PM

It's a bit of a catch-22 situation because the more that suicide is reported and talked about the more people who will contemplate it.

Sunnyisland · 26-04-2012 06:19PM

There is more awareness out there now and there are people and organisations there to help,But with the recession and sudden and unexpected changes to ones life unfortunately some people just cant cope and see there is only one way out for them,We never know what goes on in peoples minds.

mikemac1 · 26-04-2012 06:22PM

cloud493 wrote: »

Well when the government still aren't funding places like pieta house, does make you wonder.

Well the HSE have their own services too which people can access.
They part fund some others but they can't fund them all

http://www.pieta.ie/Useful_links.html
From their website there are a huge number of organizations out there.
Some should be funded, others will remain voluntary

mickrock wrote: »

It's a bit of a catch-22 situation because the more that suicide is reported and talked about the more people who will contemplate it.

It always went on
Even when it was a sin, brought shame on your family and you would be not allowed in the graveyard it still happened

The more awareness of the help out there the better

But I also see your point, maybe one lad in sixth year maybe for an example and then his classmates are affected and you worry over them.

minidazzler · 26-04-2012 06:26PM

That is simply the figure for deaths that were recorded as suicides. You could probably add a fair few more if you looked hard at the number of single vehicle road deaths that take place in the early hours of the morning.

It's a really unfortunate statistic, but there isn't much you can do about it, especially so when it's a very young person (14-20) that does it because if you look at the town in England where the media kept reporting the deaths more and more kids went for it.

There are probably a lot of parents, friends and family who feel hard done by when the media don't report the death of their child to bring to light suicide, but it tends to be a bad idea to report it.

http://www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/sreporting.pdf

steddyeddy · 26-04-2012 06:27PM

I really believe that the level of social divide in a country plays a big part in suicide and depression (just my opinion). I think we have too high a suicide rate for our size and that a lot of the public just dont want to admit the size of the problem.

SEPT 23 1989 · 26-04-2012 06:28PM

A permanent solution for a temporary problem.

mikemac1 · 26-04-2012 06:31PM

steddyeddy wrote: »

I really believe that the level of social divide in a country plays a big part in suicide and depression (just my opinion).

How do you mean?

People struggling with unemployment and bills and then people from well off backgrounds?

I'm not sure what social divide means
Just interested to know

Micky Dolenz · 26-04-2012 06:31PM

The real figures are actually a lot higher. Coroners are slow to put suicide as cause of death unless 100% sure EG suicide note. A lot of deaths are put down as misadventure.

cloud493 · 26-04-2012 06:32PM

Don't think its being suggested that the government should fund it all. But since the HSE therapy and counseling waiting list is over a year long for those who aren't an immediate threat to themselves, it could help funding places that do such good work, no?

girl2 · 26-04-2012 06:33PM

I was at suicide prevention training and they don't like to use the word "commit" suicide because of the notion that it suggests a committing a crime.

Me, personally, I do think it's a bit of a crime - to all those left to pick up the pieces.

JuliusCaesar · 26-04-2012 06:35PM

Just posted these in the Psychology forum Mental Health Help sticky:

The Samaritans are a well trained group of volunteers available to talk to youabout any problems or life grievances you wish to talk about. www.samaritans.org or email jo@samaritans.org to get trained samaritan help via email. Alternatively dial 1850-609090 to speak in privacy and confidentiality

National Office of Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide REsearch Foundation have a number of links and leaflets:

http://www.nsrf.ie/cms/?q=node/15

http://www.nsrf.ie/cms/?q=node/33

http://www.nsrf.ie/cms/?q=node/10

http://www.nosp.ie/html/help.html

http://www.nosp.ie/html/resources.html

Suicide prevention: http://www.suicideprevention.ie/

Pieta House isn't the be-all and end-all of help for those who are suicidal, although they seem to have no problem getting media exposure.

JuliusCaesar · 26-04-2012 06:38PM

cloud493 wrote: »

But since the HSE therapy and counseling waiting list is over a year long for those who aren't an immediate threat to themselves, it could help funding places that do such good work, no?

And yet again, can I make it plain that this kind of overgeneralisation does no good whatsoever, especially for those who are desperate.

Waiting times will vary from location to location and from time to time.

This overgeneralisation just makes those who are feeling hopeless, feel even more hopeless and prevents them finding out what the actual times are in their locality.

I don't want to give out to the poster, but I really do get fed up with people thinking they know what the situation is, when in fact they are spreading misinformation.

cloud493 · 26-04-2012 06:41PM

I'm basing it on my own experience of the HSE. I'm not questioning the samaritans do good work mind.

scico rocks · 26-04-2012 06:42PM

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

I don't want to give out to the poster, but I really do get fed up with people thinking they know what the situation is, when in fact they are spreading misinformation.

Well said.

minidazzler · 26-04-2012 06:43PM

girl2 wrote: »

Me, personally, I do think it's a bit of a crime - to all those left to pick up the pieces.

While I don't mean to infer that you are calling people who do kill themselves selfish, I'd like to make a point about people who do consider those who kill themselves to be selfish because of the people left behind. (your post just opened the door a tad by mentioning those left behind.

It's kind of self serving to want someone who is really in dire straits and who does not want to be alive to stick around so that other people don't get upset.

I know this might make it seem like I consider suicide a good thing in some cases, but in 99% of cases I don't. (I'm pro-choice on the whole euthanisation thing, and if I was terminal I'd probably do it rather than suffer.)

I don't think it's a good thing, but some people do suffer so much in their everyday lives that their only perceived option is to not live that life. For some people it is not a temporary pain or desire, though, I imagine for a lot it is, for some it's permanent.

Robdude · 26-04-2012 06:44PM

girl2 wrote: »

I was at suicide prevention training and they don't like to use the word "commit" suicide because of the notion that it suggests a committing a crime.

Me, personally, I do think it's a bit of a crime - to all those left to pick up the pieces.

So, presumably, it's not a crime so long as you make the appropriate arrangements beforehand?

pebbles21 · 26-04-2012 06:46PM

seantorious wrote: »

Especially in suicide one study found that of approximately 250 people who jumped in front of the tube in London and survived only 10% intended to do it before arriving at the station.

Excuse my ignorance,but how do they know only 10% intended to do it?

GarIT · 26-04-2012 06:48PM

hairyprincess wrote: »

486 people took their own lives in 2010 (these are the most recent figures).

386 men and 100 women. The highest numbers were between the 25-44 age bracket; 203 to be exact (42%). What is going on with our young people? How can we help them?

I'm sorry if this thread upsets people, but we can't ignore these figures. I'm sure we all know people who have committed suicide, and we are all too aware of the devastation it leaves. I lost a close friend last week, and in the last 3 weeks I have heard of five men taking their own lives, four of them in 25-44 age bracket.

With all the job losses and wage cuts people are under more and more pressure, what are the next published figures going to be like? And does anybody in authority really care?

Link to CSO statistics: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/vitalstats/2010/vstats_q42010.pdf
*Mods move if you feel the need to but I think AH is a target for this type of discussion*

Why are you asking about young people when old people had the highest rates of suicide?

fonda · 26-04-2012 06:52PM

Its crazy all the people I know, my ould fella committed suicide 5 years ago and my best mate 10 years ago. Its tough to go through it once but to go through it twice was awful. Then recently my little 15 year old cousin killed herself, I wasn't that close to her cause of a big enough age gap but it brings it all back. I especially feel for my aunt and uncle cause I know the pain. I also know at least another 5-10 at least (not people close to me but people I would have known). I think the numbers are far higher than is reported. Like i know there are 300+ road deaths every year but I've never known of one person in a serious accident never mind being killed

Maybe I've just been unlucky but simple maths tells me if I personally know so many people that suicide has touched the numbers must be far higher!

djk1000 · 26-04-2012 06:52PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

The real figures are actually a lot higher. Coroners are slow to put suicide as cause of death unless 100% sure EG suicide note. A lot of deaths are put down as misadventure.

I looked into that a little while back, the CSO changes misadventure findings to suicide where necessary for statistical purposes. They know what coroners are doing and try to weight the figures accordingly. So lets say 400 suicides are recorded by coroners, there could be 500 recorded by the CSO based on qualitative review of cases.

So on that side, it's not under reported too much, however there are a lot of accidents, particularly single vehicle car accidents that may be suicides, these don't get recorded as such

cloud493 · 26-04-2012 06:55PM

For the record, I'm not claiming pieta house is the only resource available to people, or even the best one. I didn't find it particularly helpful. And aware/the samaritans/HSE services/anything else are very very good. But my point is, all these resources are good, the government should do for it.

Micky Dolenz · 26-04-2012 07:01PM

djk1000 wrote: »

I looked into that a little while back, the CSO changes misadventure findings to suicide where necessary for statistical purposes. They know what coroners are doing and try to weight the figures accordingly. So lets say 400 suicides are recorded by coroners, there could be 500 recorded by the CSO based on qualitative review of cases.

So on that side, it's not under reported too much, however there are a lot of accidents, particularly single vehicle car accidents that may be suicides, these don't get recorded as such

And drowings, factory/farm/construction accidents to name but a few. Some suicides are very well planned out.

I suppose the figures can never be accurate. However the rate is alarming and something like the RSA should be set up to tackle it head on.

Suicide rates in Ireland

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