Suicide Rates in Men
While women are more likely to attempt suicide, men are more likely to succeed in taking their own lives: men commit suicide at a rate four times that of women.
“There are a number of reasons for men's suicide rates being so high,” says Dr. John Oliffe, an RN and associate professor at the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. “I think severe depression is one of the pathways to suicide, and if we backtrack and think about men's help-seeking behaviours, often we'll find that men don't have a relationship with a physician.”
Men are often raised to be the “strong and silent type” and are taught that “boys don't cry.” In many cases, they feel more uncomfortable with sharing their feelings than women do, and worry that emotional outbursts will be perceived as signs of weakness.
Rather than seek help for their depression, men are more likely to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. “Men are more likely to stay at home and think about the symptoms that are going on for them,” says Dr. Oliffe. “They perhaps reluctantly talk to a partner about what's happening and eventually seek help, so it can be quite late in the illness.”
Some of the risk factors for men's suicide include isolation, the breakup of a relationship, unemployment, loss of a loved one, mental illness, or chronic illness. Men may find it difficult to put their problem into perspective, and it may snowball in their mind until they feel like they have nobody to turn to, and no way out of their issues.
“In men who are so reluctant to seek help, suicide can emerge as a possible answer,” says Dr. Oliffe. “It becomes a viable solution to the pain that can occur with depression: the physical, emotional and psychological pain that goes along with it.”
Historically, the higher rates of completed suicide among men have also been related to the fact that men choose more lethal means, for example, death by hanging or firearms, as opposed to women's less lethal means such as overdosing on pills. This makes it even more important to help men get the care they need if they are feeling depressed or suicidal.
