High rate of male suicide a concern as agencies grapple with lifting stigma

THE number of men dying by suicide in County Wexford remains among the highest nationally, new figures from the Central Statistics Office reveal.

Fifteen men and one woman died by suicide in County Wexford in 2017, a decrease in two deaths by suicide on the previous year. Outside of the large urban centres of Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick, the county had the third highest rate of suicide nationally in 2017 - (County Galway had the same figure) and there were 19 deaths by suicide in Kildare and 17 in County Clare.

The male suicide rate fell slightly last year with 20.1 men for every 100,000 dying by suicide, compared to 21.5 in 2016, while the number of women dying in the county fell by half from 2015 to 2016. Amanda Carey, a Centre Co-ordinator with It’s Good 2 Talk in Wexford, said that she was surprised by the ratio of male to female deaths by suicide in the country. It’s Good 2 Talk, which is based in the old County Council Buildings in Wexford, offers counselling and psychotherapy support services to the community facilitating adults.

Plans are under way for the organisation to link in with Wexford Marine Watch, with whom Amanda has been a volunteer, and to provide support to those who have considered taking their own lives along the Quay in Wexford.

‘Wexford, unfortunately, has one of the highest rates of suicide per head of population in Ireland and it is essential that organisations work together to reduce this alarming statistic which continues to be very male orientated.

‘In my capacity as a counsellor with It’s Good 2 Talk, I have also come across many women who have said they are suicidal or acted in a way suggesting that they were. By working together with Wexford Marine, Pieta House and the Samaritans hopefully the number of suicides will continue to reduce.’

Amanda, who lost her own husband to suicide, said that men are very affected by the suicide taboo.

‘We need to encourage them to talk. It is all about reaching out and encouraging that person to talk to somebody who is there to listen. Counselling sessions are all about the client and their needs.’

Amanda said the service has a new progressive initiative which is aimed at getting people to open up about suicidal ideation or suicidal thoughts which may result from depression, anxiety, anorexia or substance abuse.

People with a family history of mental illness can also be affected.

‘ The staff and counsellors at It’s Good 2 Talk are here to help,’ concluded Amanda.