Author Archives: Reg Yeates

Opinion: Suicide is preventable: we need a coordinated approach to reduce needless deaths

By Reg Yeates | Wed 10th September 2014 - 10:25 am

The reporting of suicide in the national media usually only occurs when the deceased is rich, famous, or infamous. Yet it is approximated that one person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. A report from the World Health Organisation, Preventing Suicide – A Global Imperative, examines the need for urgent action to reduce suicide rates by 10% within 6 years. A tall task: made difficult as worldwide the stigma attached to mental health and suicide itself, pushes the subject into the background: an ever-growing elephant in the room. In my case an ever growing Black Dog. That according to WHO is 800 000 people a year and an estimated 20 per person who has died has attempted suicide.

In the United Kingdom, it is evident that more males than females commit suicide: in 2012, there were 4360 reported suicides of which 3400 were male, approximately 3 ½ times that of females. There is a strong reluctance with men to discuss their problems whether they be concerned with mental health or other situational circumstances. The highest rates are with men over 30 years old.

Opinion: What we leave behind

By Reg Yeates | Fri 15th August 2014 - 9:27 am

The death of Robin Williams is another tragic loss that at first assumptions has its roots in depression. He joins other illustrious public figures who took their own lives due in no small part to the Black Dog: Tony Hancock; Kurt Cobain; Stuart Adamson; Lord Sutch and Alexander McQueen. If it were not for a last minute change of mind, Stephen Fry in 1995: though it was again a narrow escape in 2012, when he downed pills and vodka, to be saved by the producer of the production he was filming. The Black Dog has little or no regard of fame, status, gender, or race: it is an equal opportunities illness that can strike anyone down, at anytime.

The statistics on suicide and mental health are worrying. Some key facts from Mental Health Foundation state that suicide is the most common cause of death in men under 35. The Samaritans Suicide Statistics for 2014 state that there were 5981 (UK) suicides in 2012 an increase of 291 on 2010 figures. Suicide is also more prevalent in men than women.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured and mental health | 5 Comments