By John Brogden
After a decade of stable numbers, Australia's mental health community is at a loss to explain why the number of suicides has increased by more than 20 per cent over the past two years.
The increase from about 2500 suicides a year for 10 years to more than 3000 in 2015 is confounding. And it's heartbreaking. The numbers don't lie – we are losing our fight to keep people alive.
We've never been richer. We've never lived longer. We've never experienced such an extended period of economic growth, but at the same time we've never been more stressed, lacked more personal time or been more burdened by debt.
We live in a period of enlightenment towards mental illness. We talk about it openly, honestly and often. Real and famous people talk publicly about their mental illness. Time and time again we learn how they live a contributing life with a mental illness. They tell us their story of diagnosis and recovery.
Suicide results in tragic outcomes for everyone, including those left behind.Credit: Rob Homer
Brick by brick we are deconstructing the stigma attached to having a mental illness in Australia.
And while there will never be enough funding for mental health services, there is significantly more money than 10 short years ago.
So why are more Australians choosing suicide? I believe it's because we've got the message wrong.
In the campaign to destigmatise mental illness we have forgotten to tell people that suicide is the wrong choice. Not a shameful decision, not a selfish decision, but the wrong decision.
When I tried to take my own life I wasn't thinking about myself, but about the people around me, the people I loved and the people who loved me. I convinced myself that it was not simply the only thing, but the best thing to do to relieve my family and friends of the shame I had caused them by what I had said and done. If I wasn't around anymore they would be better off.
I was wrong. It was not my only option and it wasn't the best option. In fact it was the worst option and would have resulted in tragic outcomes for the people who loved me.
When I speak or write about this, which is never easy, I ask people to overlay rational thought on the most irrational of all actions. I thank God I am alive today and I failed to complete my suicide attempt. I wanted to die, but I'm glad I didn't.
When I speak about my journey I stress that there is no shame in having a mental illness. I have depression for which I take medication daily. I may do so for the rest of my life. I'm not ashamed about having a mental illness, just as I wouldn't be ashamed of a physical illness.
I say the community is compassionate, people are forgiving, services are more available and life can be fulfilling.
But what I don't say explicitly is that suicide is the wrong choice.
I'm saying it now.
In our attempt to make mental illness "normal" we have failed to make suicide wrong. This is not a simple distinction. Nor is it an argument about euthanasia or religious belief. It's about making sure that people in crisis and thinking of suicide know it's not the right thing to do for them or their family and there is always a better choice.
My theory is that more Australians in crisis are choosing suicide because in normalising mental illness we have, in the minds of some, also normalised suicide.
With credit to Wham, we want people to choose life. To do this we need to send a clear message to people in crisis that living is the right choice.
Whether I am right or wrong, there is no dispute that we must move urgently to arrest the increase and then reduce the number of suicides. While this will include more resources, it also demands we get the message right too
John Brogden is the chairman of Lifeline Australia and a former NSW Liberal opposition leader.
Lifeline 131 114
MensLine 1300 789 978
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