Suicides in Australia are up and it seems that most of the people who are killing themselves are men.
It is not that women don’t try; it is just that they tend to be less successful at it. Every year, enough Australian men to populate a small country town are lost to suicide. The impact of this on the community is greater than that of natural disasters and highlights suicide as a male public health problem.
For almost a century the suicide rate in Australia has remained relatively constant. This has masked the fact that, while suicide among older people has declined, it has risen sharply among younger males. From 1996 to 1997, the national suicide rate went up 14 per cent to 2732 people. Of this number, a staggering 2146 were men.
These days almost equal numbers of men and women try to take their lives, but men are four times more successful. This is partly because they tend to use quick, brutal methods such as shooting and hanging while women go for slower, softer options that mean they can often be rescued.
In recent years there have been some highly public suicides in Australia. A couple of politicians also attempted suicide, one successfully.
But none of these events were quite as chilling as what happened in Japan when three plainly dressed middle-aged businessmen checked into separate rooms at a Tokyo hotel. After a quick drink together they retired to their respective rooms and hanged themselves with white belts. According to one suicide note, the death pact was their only means of washing away the shame of not surviving Japan’s worst economic downturn in 20 years. They were not alone: the national police agency reported that close to 500 business executives had taken their own lives the year before.
In some ways, executive suicide is different from most other forms of suicide in that it is carried out by a man who is schooled to make decisions and who decides to take his own life in a very businesslike manner. Because of the nature of the corporate environment, he usually hides his personal distress, which means others are not in a position to anticipate or prevent his act.
Invariably, he is seeking a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Although it is possible in business to lose it all and then make it all back again, at the point he decides to terminate his life, he has lost perspective.
Typically, executives who commit suicide are in mid-career, close to the top of their profession, autonomous, independent, proud, in control but quite private.
Many silently suffer from the ‘imposter phenomenon’. While their outside persona is one of competence and confidence, emotionally there is deep insecurity and a looming sense that they are really frauds, undeserving of their positions of influence. If subjected to public criticism, humiliation or severe financial pressure, such men become afraid of being’unmasked’ and, in their distress, make extreme decisions.
Sometimes the rise in suicide rates is said to be due to greater publicity surrounding the issue. The way suicide is reported in the media has changed notably over the past hundred years or so. In the 19th century inquests were public and often took place in hotels. All suicides were reported in a matter-of-fact manner, with a tone of sorrowful humanity. There was a shared empathy for the difficulty of everyday living.
By the thirties the culture had changed, inquests were conducted in mortuaries and the business of suicide was removed from community view. Regular suicides went largely unreported, while novel ones received lurid coverage.
Apart from the emotional cost to survivors and additional costs associated with attempted suicides, it is estimated that the financial burden to the country of suicide is in excess of $200 million a year. The problem is probably greater than reported. Some experts estimate that the real number of suicides may be at least half as many again as recorded in official statistics.
Because of the stigma associated with suicide, some doctors are willing to give a death certificate for natural causes when suicide is the actual cause. It has been suggested that an explicit public health campaign, similar to those conducted for drink driving, could tip the balance in favour of people chosing to live rather than electing to die at a time when their decision-making ability has been compromised by emotional distress.
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