Suicide is everyone’s problem. We can’t let this go on

All of us — irrespective of age, class or gender — are living in the ripples of mental health. And with more than 3500 people dying from suicide last year alone, it’s time we figure out how to truly tackle this epidemic, writes Jane Fynes-Clinton.

A man I know died by suicide last week.

A bright, enthusiastic student, Lloyd Copper had regularly sat in my university tutorials and my office vigorously dissecting issues that engaged him and sharing his many academic challenges and successes.

He also often openly talked about his mental illness struggles, his simultaneous pride at being gay and the trouble it had caused him, his tenuous living arrangements and the difficulties he had with feeling understood and connected to others.

Now he is gone. His family and friends are shattered. My university colleagues are rocked. So many things are worse now he is dead for those who knew him and nothing is better.

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The death of a passionate, enthusiastic man who was lit up by political discourse, social justice issues and how to better the lot of LGBTIQ+ people is tragic and sobering. It was also preventable, if only the keys to the secret door could have been found.

Lloyd is one of eight Australians who died by suicide last Thursday alone, one of more than 3500 who have died that way in the past year: twice as many as in car crashes.

More than 3500 died by suicide in Australia last year. Picture: iStock

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15-44. Three times as many men than women die that way, and twice as many indigenous people. It is a scourge and the numbers are so large they are hard to fathom. And even with more open talk and better awareness, we are not winning the battle.

Despite a massive government-funded shift in approach by news media, creative arts and other professional communications in the way we talk about suicide, official statistics show more people are dying that way.

There was a 9 per cent increase in suicide deaths in Australia between 2016 and 2017, the last whole-year numbers available. It was the worst year in decades.

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The Coalition Government late last year pledged a $36 million funding injection into suicide prevention projects and Lifeline called for reduction targets to be urgently set. Pointier heads than mine will keep working on how to do that and presumably share the lifesaving recipe with a world which is similarly struggling to rein in the devastation.

For those of us who are in the ripples and the shadows of suicide — and that is us all — doing nothing in the meantime is not an option.

While some feel paralysed into silence for fear of making a situation worse when someone in our world reveals they are feeling at risk or having suicidal thoughts, it is better to act on what we know helps.

Evidence has been gathered on what saved those who have stood at the door of suicide and chosen not to go through.

We know that resilience and protection are achieved by supportive social relationships, by feeling heard. Everyday people can offer that by listening rather than waiting for our turn to speak.

They are achieved by feeling a sense of purpose or control. We can help a person identify those too.

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Governments and agencies are responsible for delivering positive connections to the help and health systems, which have been shown to help keep suicidal people safe, but we can walk beside someone as they access these.

Like all suicides, Lloyd’s death is a terrible, premature loss to his world, and the only good that has come of it is to prompt some honest public conversation.

Little things done by regular people can at least foster hope.

Dr Jane Fynes-Clinton is a journalism lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast, currently researching news media reporting of suicide. If you or someone you know is suffering, help is available via Lifeline 131114 and Suicide Call-Back Service 1300 659 467.

Originally published as Suicide is everyone’s problem. We can’t let this go on