Four in ten men aged 18 to 45 have thought about suicide

It found that almost half of all men aged 18-45 had thought about suicide as a way out of misery caused by divorce, money troubles, bereavement, problems at work or bullying at some point in their life.

Of these, more than half never spoke to anyone else about their difficulties. 

The main reasons cited were not wanting loved ones to worry, feeling ashamed of their feelings and not wanting to sound weak, found the YouGov poll of 2,000 men for suicide prevention charity CALM.

Of those surveyed who had considered suicide, 15 per cent - more than a third of those who considered suicide - saw killing themselves as a genuine possibility, while 27 per cent said it was a ‘fleeting thought’.

The findings highlighted the isolation and self-destructive impulses which have led to high rates of male suicide. 

One in three of those who had thought about suicide were driven by difficulties that included money troubles, and another third listed the death of a friend or family member as a reason for their feelings of futility. 

Considerably more than a third cited problems including failure at work or college, just under a third were depressed by their appearance or their weight, and a quarter said they had been bullied. 

One in five thought of suicide because of divorce or relationship break-up, and one in six said a reason was sex or sexuality.  

Jane Powell of CALM said: ‘The results of this research, together with the latest mortality statistics, show that we urgently need to raise the nation’s awareness of this hugely important and under-discussed issue.

‘Male suicide is tragically the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK, and 12 men take their own lives every day – a fact few people are even aware of, let alone talking about.

‘This isn’t an issue which affects "other people” or one that can be solely limited to mental health issues, considering suicide is clearly something many men will consider should their life circumstances change.

‘Of those men polled, the largest proportion of those who’d thought about suicide never actually talked to someone about it and the reasons they didn’t talk reinforce the norms of what society think it is to be a man – not to talk about their feelings or make those around them worry.’

She added: ‘It is our hope to get people talking about the issue more openly.’  

One in eight of those asked declined to tell pollsters whether they had ever contemplated suicide. 

(dailymail.co.uk)