Suicide is painful for depressed to raise with family

ONE in three people would not talk to anyone if they were feeling suicidal, new research has suggested.

The survey, carried out for the Samaritans by YouGov, found that 37 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women would not confide in someone if they felt driven to kill themselves.

COMMUNICATION: One in three people would not talk to anyone if they were feeling suicidal, new research has suggested.

The charity said last year a fifth of calls it received were from people having suicidal feelings, while 43 per cent of e-mails and 52 per cent of text messages were about that topic.

Staff believe this is because the latter two are more anonymous ways of communicating.

A regional Samaritans spokesman said: "We know from people who use our service that they can struggle to talk to family or friends about suicidal feelings, often because they do not want to worry or burden them, or because they feel they wouldn't understand.

"Some people who use our service have said that they do not talk to health professionals or mental health services about their suicidal feelings because they are afraid of being sectioned.

"Some of our callers say Samaritans are the only people they can talk to about their suicidal feelings.  Talking about feelings can make all the difference between choosing to live or die."

The poll of 1,066 people was carried out online on August 1 and 2.  People aged 18 to 24 were the least likely to speak about wanting to kill themselves, with 37 per cent saying they would not talk to anyone.

Samaritans said suicide among men has dropped slightly over the past 50 years and has halved among women, although it is feared it could increase for both sexes as more people lose their jobs.  In the UK, 5,675 people took their own lives in 2009. The charity receives five million calls a year.

To get help from the Samaritans, visit www.samaritans.org, call 08457 909090 or e-mail jo@samaritans.org