Complex causes of suicide rise

There is only one truly serious philosophical problem, French writer Albert Camus said, and that is suicide. Deciding whether life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question of philosophy. Our suicide statistics are perhaps the most visible sign of a long-term mental health crisis in New Zealand. Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall released provisional suicide numbers on Monday, which are up 2.5 per cent on last year.

In the year to June 30, 685 New Zealanders took their own lives. That figure is almost double the national road toll and equates to almost 14 people in every 100,000.

Within these numbers, there are pockets of even greater concern. While there were 17 more suicides than in the previous year, there were disproportionate increases in the numbers of young people dying, from

53 to 73 among 15-19-year-olds and from 76 to 91 among 20-24-year-olds. Ma¯ ori are disproportionately affected as well. Ma¯ ori suicide rates are more than double those of all other ethnicities.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is right to doubt the usefulness of suicide targets, which would have implied there is an acceptable level of suicide. The real, albeit impossible, target should be zero.

A recognition of the scale of the problem is only part of the way to knowing what can be done. People who work in the mental health sector talk about the need for better-equipped services with more joined-up thinking.

But there is also a case for thinking deeper than merely addressing services and resources, which react to a crisis, and trying to understand the deeper causes of hopelessness. Does a medical model of mental health sometimes prevent us from fully acknowledging the social and economic

factors that can lead to suicidal thoughts?

We live in a time of greater precariousness and uncertainty. The nature of work is changing rapidly and many feel insecure in their employment. Housing and living costs are rising. Even the prosperity that some enjoy is undermined by the threat of climate change, which feels like a deadline for humanity.

It is not surprising that of the 6889 people who committed suicide between 2007 and 2019, 1884 of them were unemployed. That is more than a quarter of the total, compared to 2850 who were employed. Another 625 were students.

The link between suicide and economic insecurity has been made more forcefully in the UK, where studies found that suicides had been declining in the UK, Europe, the US and Canada before the financial crisis of 2008, when numbers started to rise dramatically. Redundancy, loss of homes and economic austerity triggered depression and suicidal thoughts in those who had never experienced mental health issues before.

Researchers described an extra 10,000 ‘‘economic suicides’’. The rates were four times higher in men than women, which was believed to be connected with the shame men felt over financial failure and their unwillingness to seek help.

In the New Zealand totals, suicide rates for men are more than twice as high as for women. As well as young men, there are surprisingly high numbers for men aged 45 to 54, which may suggest similar connections to those seen in the UK.

A Suicide Prevention Minister was appointed in the UK in 2018. The New Zealand public will look very carefully at new strategies to be announced by the Government within weeks, including the creation of a Suicide Prevention Office.

But there is also a case for ... trying to understand the deeper causes of hopelessness.