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Suicide in men linked to recession cauchisavona via Flickr

Sharp increase in suicide rate is linked to recession - experts

There were 552 suicides recorded in 2009, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year. One study found a high number of people who had taken their own lives had been unemployed.

NEW FIGURES SHOW there has been a sharp increase in the number of suicides in Ireland,with experts linking the increase to the recession.

Latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that there were 552 suicides recorded in 2009, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year.

80 per cent of those who died by suicide in Ireland that year were men.

The CSO Report on Vital Statistics for 2009 which was released this month shows 443 male suicides that year, a 15 per cent increase on 2008. In that same year there were 109 female suicide deaths, a 9 per cent decrease on the previous year.

The highest rates were recorded for males between the age of 35-44 and 25-34 at 23.7 per cent and 23.5 per cent respectively.

The impact of the recession on mental health is a contributory factor to the rise in suicide rates say experts who work in the area.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie Dr Anne Cleary, a lecturer in the department of Sociology in UCD, said:

Unemployment is absolutely associated with stress and suicidal behaviour. The recession and all of the stresses surrounding that is having an effect on families and is linked to mental stress.

A study by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) which looked at 190 cases of suicide in Cork City and county between Sep 2008 and Mar 2011 showed that 38 per cent were unemployed and 32 per cent worked in construction.

NSRF research director Ella Arensman told TheJournal.ie that when they began the research they had no idea that it would be during a time of recession. She said she never would have expected such stark statistics but that they reflected the impact the recession was having.

“The  CSO figures confirm that suicides among men in Ireland rose sharply as the economy went into severe recession, ” said Arensman. Other business sectors that had high suicide rates are the agriculture sector, business and commerce as well as taxi drivers.

She said that mental health issues are a contributing factor adding that “the recession is compounding the problems that the vulnerable were already facing”.

Dr Anne Cleary has conducted research into suicidal behaviour among young men and looked at the risks and vulnerabilities associated with men in rural areas.

She said that research shows that there is a socio-class element and that not all men are under pressure in society. “Men who follow traditional ways of thinking, who don’t want to show feelings, who feel that certain traditional attributes in a man are very important – then I think those kinds of men are experiencing difficulties in society now,” she said.

Her research into suicidal behaviours in men in rural areas shows that there is a link and this, she says,  is due to the types of men that live in these areas.

The study I did on rural men that is just about to be completed suggests that isolated areas have higher suicide rates. You see that in isolated areas like the west of Ireland, in the highlands of Scotland and the rural parts of Australia. In these areas an adherence to the traditional type of male in that community is evident whereby men feel they have to be strong no matter what challenges are being thrown at them.

David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, who led a study published in The Lancet found the recession is having an effect on mental health all over Europe. There has been a sharp rise in suicides across Europe, particularly in seriously affected countries like Greece and Ireland since 2007, coinciding with the downturn.

In Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24 percent from 2007 to 2009, and has been described as a pan-European record high, with experts attributing the rise to the country’s economic crisis. Statistics released in 2011 by the Greek ministry of health show a 40 per cent rise in death by suicide between January and May compared to the same period in 2010.

Dr Cleary says in European terms Ireland has a relatively high level of suicides. “It is important to see that those statistics occur in other countries also, so it is not just about Irish men. There is a lot of crisis talk around Irish men and suicide and while it is an absolutely tragic act, merely to associate it with Irish men and the pressure at this time is not really the answer – it generalises the problem,” she said.

How teenagers are affected

However it is not just men that are at risk of mental health issues caused by the recession says Maureen Bolger, founder of TeenLine Ireland, a helpline specifically for teenagers.

Maureen, who lost her son to suicide in 2003, said she was horrified to find there were such little resources for teenager’s mental health issues which led to her setting up TeenLine. She said that teens are taking on their parents stresses and worries during the recession.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie she said:

Young people are listening to what is happening at home; maybe Dad has lost his job or maybe both parents have. They are listening to the worries of their parents and young people are actually taking that upon themselves.

She said that children can often magnify a problem making it bigger than it actually is which is why she says it is so important to speak out if you are worried or stressed. “Parents may think they are not listening, but parents need to be aware that children are around and they are very good at picking up things. They are nearly experts at picking up what’s not right,” said Bolger.

According to Youth Suicide Prevention Ireland, between 2001 and 2005 11.8 per cent of suicides were by people between the ages of 15 and 19 years of age. Maureen warns that in the last two weeks TeenLine’s calls have risen sharply.

What is happening in our country and what is not being addressed is a tsunami of suicides. It is Ireland’s secret. Everyone else is looking at the recession – money, money, money. Some people are looking at the state of the country and they are used to having their two cars and they can’t pay for the house anymore, they have to downsize and some just can’t deal with it.

She added that the road safety campaign has done a great job in creating awareness and said that with such a high rate of suicide the same sort of resources should be dedicated to a mental health campaign.

Employers have also begun to look at how to cope with the effects of suicide.  A booklet called ‘Breaking the Silence in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers on Responding to Suicide in the Workplace’ was developed by suicide bereavement charity Console and the Irish Hospice Foundation in collaboration with ICTU and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. It offers advice on how to deal sensitively with the suicide of a colleague, and how to support an employee affected by the suicide of someone.

A spokesperson for Console told TheJournal.ie that “in the last two years we had noticed an increase in employers coming to console about this asking for help about how best to deal with it. People want to know how to best handle the situation and also to see that it doesn’t happen in their community again”.

He added that the impact can be huge in a workplace when a member of staff has died by suicide saying “people spend more than half their day in work with their colleagues”.

A spokesperson for the Health Service Executive (HSE) told TheJournal.ie that the increases in the rates of death by suicide are not unexpected “given the economic crisis and its impact on unemployment”.

Reach Out, the national strategy for action on suicide prevention was launched in 2005 to tackle the problem of suicide in our society. The HSE spokesperson said that the government has demonstrated its commitment to addressing the increase in deaths by suicide by increasing funding allocated to suicide prevention initiatives through the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP).

The HSE said an additional allocation of €1m in 2011 which enabled the further funding of 27 projects across the voluntary and statutory sector, and that the money had increased the number of funded programmes and services from 10 in 2010 to 41 in 2011.

The HSE stated that in 2012 there was further government investment of €3m which essentially represents a total increase of funding for project based work from €4.2m in 2010 to €8m in 2012.

Teen-Line’s Maureen Bolger said “We are all struggling in this country at the moment but the important thing to remember is to talk to someone in times of stress”.

For more information on mental health services please see links below:

Samaritans > 1850 60 90 90

Teen-Line Ireland> 1800 833 634

Console> 1800 201 890

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20 Comments
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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Jun 10th 2012, 6:26 PM

    ”Sharp increase in suicide rate is linked to recession”
    Yes
    A recession caused by greedy corrupt and criminal bankers

    They must be held accountable.

    Our spineless, toothless, bought out government must be made stand up to this corruption.

    85
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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
    Favourite HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Jun 10th 2012, 6:27 PM

    I am sick of losing my friends.

    102
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    Mute Keith Colton
    Favourite Keith Colton
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    Jun 10th 2012, 7:47 PM
    52
    See 3 more replies ▾
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    Mute David Higgins
    Favourite David Higgins
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    Jun 10th 2012, 9:04 PM

    What an insensitive comment. Thousands of people are going to lose their jobs in the Irish banking sector and they’re at every risk of suicide as the rest of the population.

    The idea that the banking sector has been in any way shielded by the bailout is false, it’s the public sector that carries on relatively untouched.

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    Mute Sara cahill
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    Jun 10th 2012, 11:08 PM

    David, the public sector were probably the first to take a very substantial paycut back in 2009. Remember? Or were you even old enough to read back then?

    29
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    Mute Sara cahill
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    Jun 10th 2012, 11:18 PM

    I’d like to add, David, that due to public sector pay being cut by so much, my husband (a Garda) and I (a nurse) and our 2 small children left Dublin 2 weeks ago and now live in Perth, Western Australia. Which is where our 3rd baby will be born in approx 15 weeks. Thousands of miles from our families and friends.
    Grow up, David, and stop telling lies.

    34
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    Mute Gabriel McManus
    Favourite Gabriel McManus
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    Jun 10th 2012, 6:46 PM

    Waiting for a few of the commenters on the Peter McVerry’s article to suggest the jobless and suicidal should pull themselves together and get a job. I’ve never encountered such cruel attitudes towards people as I often read here. Workplace pressure and bullying is a major factor in suicide and depression, and people are particularly vulnerable to being bullied during recession, when the pressure is on, like to see some Irish employers dealing with those issues, in a more proactive manner, that sticking up some posters on suicide awareness, they might actually save some lives if they listened to their staff now and then.

    71
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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Jun 10th 2012, 7:36 PM

    As an ex victim of bullying, Gabriel I understand exactly what you are saying.

    Eventually I stood up to the bullies

    All I can say is that when I stood up to them it might not have looked as choreographed as a scene from Rocky,
    but it felt like it to me.

    Bosses must listen to their staff
    Our country’s bosses must listen to their people.
    Banks must listen to their customers.

    35
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    Mute Johnny Gobstock
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    Jun 10th 2012, 10:53 PM

    me too Gabriel & Harry, me too. theres been many of us, Workplace pressure, bullying, lies, extremely rude, intimidating behaviour that goes on without correction in companies that are household names.

    19
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    Mute Aarum
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    Jun 10th 2012, 8:00 PM

    A paramedic told me that it is usual for them to come across a suicide on every shift?! That’s 2 shifts a day everyday in just one area, I think it would horrify when we hear the exact number of suicides since the start of this recession, FF , dodgy bankers and the corrupt alike have a lot to answer for

    37
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    Mute Laura Crowe
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    Jun 10th 2012, 10:35 PM

    This is 2012 and only now 2009 is being reported on. What about 2010 and 2011 ? Scary stuff.

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    Mute Elrat
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    Jun 10th 2012, 10:18 PM

    Didn’t that pr##k B Ahearn tell us to commit suicide !!

    23
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    Mute Frank2521
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    Jun 10th 2012, 9:50 PM

    the politicians don’t care whether we commit suicide or emigrate – if they did it would be reflected in the amount of money and rescourses to prevention.

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    Mute Kate Kelly
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    Jun 10th 2012, 9:42 PM

    Please tell me this isn’t yet another bloody useless survey we’ve had to pay for?! Who the hell really needed ‘experts’ to tell them this?

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    Mute Kevin
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    Jun 13th 2012, 11:26 PM

    This great sadness – where does it come from?
    How’d it steal into the world?
    What seed, what root did it grow from?
    Who’s doing this?
    Who’s killing us, robbing us of life and light?
    Mocking us with the sight of what we might of known?
    Does our ruin benefit the earth, aid the grass to grow and the sun to shine?
    Is this darkness in you, too?
    Have you passed through this night?

    8
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    Mute Eilish Deegan
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    Jun 11th 2012, 8:59 AM

    It would suit the banks very well if we all committed suicide as then they could claim what we owe them off insurance.they somehow cant do that while we are alive. This should and could change. No income no job can’t pay.sorry.claim it off insurance or do what u want .not our fault pay cut to shreds or job gone. Don’t give em the satisfaction of having one less problem to deal with. When at the bottom there is only up to go. Enjoy life at
    its grand in the back seat too. U will get to move to the front again if u want but wait don’t jump out of the car .

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    Mute Aranthos Faroth
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    Jun 11th 2012, 9:03 AM

    Sharp increase in suicide rate is linked to recession – Joe Soap….

    Don’t need a weatherman to tell me it’s raining outside.

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    Mute LoyalIrish Citizen
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    Jun 10th 2012, 7:39 PM

    Having looked at how opinions in law strip all recognition in law and destroy peoples worth in society this article is mere white washing the effects.

    The truth is probably something else and a statistical approach really does not get to the truth.

    4
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    Mute Dave Minogue
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    Jun 11th 2012, 10:24 AM

    Is there any numbers for attempted suicide? I saw them before the recession kicked in and they were astronomical, something like 20 a day I think.

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    Mute Matt Waine
    Favourite Matt Waine
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    Jun 15th 2012, 5:23 PM

    RIP Col. love you to bits

    1
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