West Midlands male suicide rates going under the radar
Nearly two in five young men in the West Midlands have considered taking their own life, new figures have revealed - raising concerns the 'hugely important' issue is not being taken seriously enough.
Figures published this week showed 39 percent of men from the region aged 18-45 have at some time considered suicide 'as a way out', with a third of those contemplating it as a 'genuine option'.
Of those who had experienced suicidal thoughts, 40 percent said they had kept the feelings to themselves rather than discussing them with family members, friends or medical professionals.
In light of the study, men's grooming brand Lynx and male suicide charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) have launched a UK-wide campaign to highlight the problem.
A recent YouGov poll found only a fifth of the public realised suicide is the single biggest cause of death in men aged under 45.
Last year there were 4,623 male suicides in the UK, accounting for 76 percent of all suicides.
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.
"Male suicide is tragically the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK, and 12 men take their own lives every day – a fact few people are even aware of, let alone talking about.
"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."
The research carried out by YouGov in October found 42 percent of British men aged 18 to 45 said they had contemplated taking their own lives, meaning the West Midlands figure fell slightly below the national average.
The reasons 41 percent of these men felt unable to discuss their feelings included not wanting people to worry about them, not wanting to talk about their feelings and not wanting to cause a fuss.
Lynx and CALM have now launched their campaign which seeks to contrast the attention paid to relatively trivial topics with an unwillingness to talk openly about male suicide.
The campaign, which culminates with International Men's Day on November 19, has been launched with the social media hashtag #BiggerIssues
David Titman, Marketing Manager for Lynx, said: "We want to make a positive contribution to the lives of British men and as suicide stands as the single biggest killer of men aged under 45, 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."
Visit www.biggerissues.co.uk for more information on the campaign.
