Increased suicide Rates in the Recession

It is an inconvenient truth that the government has failed to address and the media have barely covered: the number of people killing themselves is back on the rise.

In 2008 over 5,700 people killed themselves in the UK, an average of almost 16 deliberate deaths a day.

After close to a decade of annual declines, recession triggered a sharp rise in suicides. Recent figures published in medical journals show that the UK suicide rate increased 8% between 2007 and 2009. The latest Office for National Statistics figures suggest a similar rise.

The problem is predominantly and also historically a male one, with three times as many men killing themselves as women. It is also a trend not confined to the UK. Suicide rates have risen across Europe since 2008, with Greece, in particular, experiencing staggering increases. 2010 saw a 25% rise in suicide, according to the Greek parliament.  It takes no genius to realise given Greece's current economic woes that there is a definite link.

In October, the country's health minister warned that early signs suggest a further 40% jump in 2011.

There myst be fears of a decade of unusually high suicide rates. There is clear evidence about suicide and economic recession being related .

It is the instability of recession that creates this link. No one should be surprised that factors such as unemployment and job insecurity can push people who may be already vulnerable to take their own lives. Life events like redundancy, bankruptcy and the relationship breakdowns that often follow can create bouts of mental illness.

Redundancy can bring about loss of identity and pride and lead to mental illness. Employment often 'defines' people and loss of it can cause severe trauma.

Symptoms can be weight loss; sleep deprivation and development of a belief that life isn't worth living.

People need listening without judgment, challenging negative assumptions and helping to create optimism for the future. But with the UK's economic future looking ever bleaker after the chancellor downgraded growth and announced six more years of cuts, how will charities/organisations that provide such support cope?

At a time when we would reasonably expect there to be an increase in demand for mental health support, we are seeing cuts to services across the board. With stretched services already seeing people "fall through the cracks", my fears is the "fault" lines can only widen.

I believe the key is to learn from the past and, in particular, start tackling people's access to the means of suicide. In the 1950s, death by domestic gas accounted for around half of all suicides. But throughout the 1960s, the introduction of non-toxic gas into British kitchens saw thousands of lives saved.

It's as if when people consider suicide they think about doing it in a particular way.

If you remove a culturally common method, there isn't an immediate substitution and it tends to reduce overall suicide. If paracetamol was only available in blister packs, making impulsive overdosing more difficult, or mental health clinics removed features that could potentially be used for hanging, the impact on suicide rates could be huge.

As the Voluntary/Third sector struggles to offset the rising suicide rate with diminishing resources, the government has remained alarmingly silent, having made no major announcement about how to confront this issue.

The suicide prevention strategy for England, which is due to be published in early 2012, may change that.

If not, there is no guarantee that support services provided by people like MIND, Rethink and Advocacy Services like ours will continue to exist.