World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an annual awareness event established to raise awareness about suicide across the globe and working together to prevent it.
In 2017, in the UK and Ireland alone, over 6,000 people died of suicide. Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy.
Did you know that in 2018 there were 6,507 suicides in the UK alone? that’s 507 more deaths than last year.
And that In the UK men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women? The most affected age bracket amongst men is 45-49
The rate of deaths among the under 25’s in the UK increased by 23.7%, totalling 730 deaths in 2018.
In the Republic of Ireland, the rate is four times higher among men than women, and the highest suicide rate is amongst men aged 55-65.
In Scotland, the suicide rate among young people aged 15-24 increased by 52.7%. This is the highest it has been since 2007.
These are truly shocking statistics, but there IS some way you can help to drive down these figures.
The Samaritans have several campaigns that you can become involved with from
Tackling Loneliness –https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/take-action-now/
to Brew Mondays – https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/brew-monday-2019/
and Men on the Ropes https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/men-ropes/
to name a few things that you can either participate in or pass information to others about.
If you are feeling suicidal, or if you have concerns about somebody else please seek help, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 .
If you or someone you are concerned about is under 35 please call Papyrus on 0800 468 41 41 to seek help, advice, and a light at the end of the tunnel.