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Suicide and Self-harm in a Recession

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue. In the past few months, the House has debated public spending cuts, job losses and the scaling back of services, but the human and personal costs are often forgotten among the facts, figures and policies, with a profound and tragic impact on individual lives and families. When people take their own lives and self-harm, their reasons are complex and often individual, but running through too many incidents are worries about money and debt, the loss of status and esteem often associated with unemployment, and fears about a house or job loss. The increases in personal debt, bankruptcy, homelessness and unemployment that can follow can substantially increase the incidence of suicide and self-harm. A survey for Mind this year showed that one in 10 workers had approached their GP as a direct result of the recession, mostly for depression. The points that I wish to make this evening are drawn from papers written by academics working in a range of institutions, including the universities of Bristol, Oxford and Manchester, which have departments focusing on suicide and its prevention. I am also indebted to the tremendous work of the Samaritans and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The academic community draws on research on the effect of recession on cultures across Europe, as well as those in east and south-east Asia, Australia, America and elsewhere. The data go back to the great depression of the 1930s and are right up to date. The steps that I will urge the Government to take are recommended by leading experts in the causes and prevention of suicide and self-harm. I thank those experts not only for their support and access to their research, which has helped me to prepare for the debate, but for their dedication and commitment to preventing self-harm and saving lives. Self-harm includes intentional acts of self-poisoning or self-injury, irrespective of the motivation or the degree of suicidal intent. It includes suicide attempts as well as acts in which little or no suicidal intent is involved, such as when people harm themselves as a form of interpersonal communication of distress, to reduce internal tension or to punish themselves. The Royal College of Psychiatrists points out in its report ““Self-harm, suicide and risk: helping people who self-harm”” that the incidence of self-harm has continued to rise in the UK over the past 20 years. For young people, the rate here in the UK is said to be the highest in Europe. The RCP points out that"““the needs, care, well-being and individual human dilemma of the person who harms themselves should be at the heart of what we as clinicians do. Public health policy has a vital role to play and psychiatrists must be involved and not leave these crucial political and managerial decisions to those who are not professionally equipped to appreciate the complexities of self-harm and suicide.””" It goes on to point out that"““we must never forget that we are not just dealing with social phenomena but with people who are often at, and beyond the limit of what they can emotionally endure.””" Research has shown clearly that economic cycles give a clear indication of suicidal trends, and recession has been shown to be accompanied by an increase in suicide rates across the world. Falling stock prices, increased bankruptcies, and housing insecurities including evictions, the anticipated loss of a home and higher interest rates are all associated with increased suicide risk. Study has shown that being in debt is associated with mental health problems and suicide ideation, which contribute to someone taking their life. We know that the unemployed are two to three times more likely to die by suicide than people in employment. Unemployed men are particularly at risk. Unemployment can result in poorer mental health and contribute to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and feelings of hopelessness, all of which increase the likelihood that someone will think that their life is no longer worth living. For those who have no history of mental health problems, there is a 70% increase in suicide risk if they are unemployed. The great depression of the '20s '30s resulted in a steep increase in male suicides. The people most at risk of suicide are those who are experiencing financial problems, those in poverty, those struggling with the rising cost of living, those who have recently lost their jobs or who are affected by a downturn in business, those who are in low-status occupations, and those with existing mental health problems. People who are self-employed or who live in single-person households, those experiencing relationship breakdowns, and those who are isolated and without strong social networks are also particularly at risk. Initially, people often turn to drugs and alcohol to mitigate the emotional pain and confusion that they feel. Some argue that improving access to psychological therapies is the best way of helping those who suffer from mental health problems as a result of the recession. Treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapies can benefit people, but as Professor Drinkwater of the university of Bristol has made clear,"““unless you do something about the environment in which they live they are…likely to relapse. Without real jobs, decent housing, and adequate incomes people are going to be at risk of becoming ill again””."