Editorial: Suicide... the S word we don't talk about

Nina Griffiths and comedian Mike King.

Kaitaia teenager Nina Griffiths has an ally in Mike King.

And the pair have an ally in this media outlet.

The causative factors in suicide in Northland have changed in the past decade or so. One of those big changes is online bullying.

Yet it seems that suicide is still a taboo subject and it sometimes feels that the way we talk about the feelings that precede suicide, and how we deal with those feelings, hasn't changed much.

Nina wants to change that, and wants youth to be involved in the discussion. After losing two friends to suspected suicide, she organised a public meeting. She got Mike King along. And 180 people turned up as well.

King is a funny guy, who has experienced some sad times and talks openly about it.

Despite the efforts of people like King or Sir John Kirwan, people are still reluctant to talk about depression - men in particular.

But King is hammering away at the message.

And we need people like him to. He might not be 100 per cent right in everything he says - who is? But voices like his and Nina's are different to the mainstream.

They help promote change.

Nina is right - youth solutions to youth problems are important. But so is adult guidance. And somewhere, there is a positive medium.

Sometimes these things take time to change.

This week, after years of discussion and lobbying, the law changed in terms of how the media can report suspected suicide.

Until a few days ago, using the term "suspected suicide" or "suicide" related to someone's death was outlawed unless a coroner had given permission or ruled on the cause of the person's death.

"No suspicious circumstances" became the code words for suspected suicide - we skirted around the issue.

No responsible media outlet wants to report more on suicide.

But we want to report more openly on it.

Who knows - it may even lead to people talking more openly about the subject.