Suicide

• Suicide is a major risk in depression. About 50% of people who kill themselves are suffering from some form of depression. Men are around three times more likely to kill themselves than women (although women attempt suicide more often).
• Suicide is more common among men who are separated, widowed or divorced, and it's more likely if they are heavy drinkers.
• Over the last few years the suicide rate among men has increased, especially in the 16–24 age group and in those working in agriculture (the BSE crisis has driven many farmers to financial ruin and despair).
• GPs need to be more alert to the risk of suicide in their patients. It's well known that two out of three people who kill themselves will have seen their doctor in the previous four weeks, and nearly 50% will have done so in the week before they kill themselves – presumably in a last desperate bid to get some help.
• Family, friends and even doctors are often reluctant to talk about suicide to someone who is depressed in case it makes them more likely to attempt it, and the depressed person him/herself often has the same concern. However, there's no evidence that this is the case. In fact, a person with suicidal feelings normally finds sharing these a relief, not least because it signals to those around them just how bad they feel – which increases the possibility of getting some help.