Call to tackle UK’s ‘shocking’ rate of male suicide as study reveals scale of problem

By The Press Association2nd November 2015News EnglandMental Health, News England, Research, Suicide, Suicide Prevention

About two in five British men have contemplated taking their own lives, according to new research by a male suicide prevention charity.

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) study found 42% of men aged 18-45 have considered killing themselves and revealed “shocking” facts behind male suicide.

The YouGov research also found 41% of those who had contemplated taking their own life had not discussed the feelings with anyone else.

Men said they did not want friends or family to worry about them or were not wanting to cause a fuss, the study found.

In the UK 12 men take their own lives each day – making it the biggest cause of death amongst those aged under 45.

Last year 4,623 men killed themselves, 76% of the total number of suicides according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Jane Powell, CEO of Calm, said: “The results of this research, together with the latest mortality statistics, show that we urgently need to raise the nation’s awareness of this hugely important and under-discussed issue.

“This isn’t an issue which affects ‘other people’ or one that can be solely reasoned to mental health issues, considering suicide is clearly something many men will consider should their life circumstances change.

“Of those men polled, the largest proportion of those who’d thought about suicide never actually talked to someone about it and the reasons they didn’t talk reinforce the norms of what society think it is to ‘be a man’ – not to talk about their feelings or make those around them worry.”

Calm have teamed up with Lynx for the Bigger Issues campaign which will raise awareness of male suicide using provocative advertising that updates every two hours to represent that in the UK another man takes his own life in that time.

The campaign is using the #BiggerIssues message to promote an open conversation about the issue and will culminate on International Men’s Day on November 19.

David Titman, marketing manager for Lynx, said the brand got involved because of the “shocking rate” of male suicide.

He said: “Lynx has a powerful voice and is proud to be able to use it in partnership with Calm to raise awareness of this massive issue. It’s an issue that is really important to us.

“The ultimate objective of our partnership with Calm is to contribute to re-education and reduction of the UK’s shocking rate of male suicide, and encourage men to open up about their problems and seek help when they need it.”