This Mental Health Chat is dedicated to John Bourke, who was a dear friend of Benny’s and took his own life. Were you aware that on average there are 135 people who are impacted by the death of a loved one by suicide? There are 15 suicides a day in the UK and 8 suicides a day in Australia.
Thank you Peter Dundon for joining me to give us some facts and figures about suicide. We are aiming to break down the stigma of suicide, understanding that people complete their life as they are so low and cannot see any other way to cope. Every situation is different and we should open up conversations to help people who have suicidal thoughts.
The reason why we do not refer to the term COMMIT suicide is that suicide has been decriminalised. In the UK, the law changed in 1961, and in Australia, the different states followed the changes in law at different times. To name a few, in NSW, Australia, the law was lifted in 1983 with Queensland and Western Australia never having suicide as a crime.
The terms to be aware of are passive suicide ideation and active suicide ideation. Passive suicide ideation is where someone does not want to live, they may have suicidal thoughts but do not want to complete their life. Active suicide ideation is where someone does want to complete their life and is active in the process. If we have early intervention and talk about the thoughts, we may be able to stop someone becoming active.
Sue Mulrenan, Tony Phipps, and Declan McGann all said we need to open up conversations, talk to people, and ask the question, “Have you had suicidal thoughts?”
Subscribe to my YouTube channel - Mental Health Chats. Rob Osman will be our next guest and will be opening up the conversation about men and mental health.
Let's open up chats and build awareness for anyone suffering from a mental illness. Please like, comment, share, and ask questions. #MentalHealthSupport #SuicidePrevention #SuicideHelp
