Suicide expert calls for shift in focus from youth to older men

Barry Taylor says the focus needs to be shifted to men in their 40s through to their 80s.

New Zealand has the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world, but a real problem is the suicide rate among older men, a suicide prevention expert said.

"We are seeing in New Zealand this persistent rate of suicide in men that is not going down," said Barry Taylor, who has been working in suicide prevention for over three decades.

"I've been working in suicide prevention for 30 years...the first national response to suicide back in the late 80s, the generation Xs, are still killing themselves. We're seeing four to five times higher than for women."

Taylor is calling for political parties and funders to produce policies that were evidence based.

He said focus needs to be shifted to men in their 40s, 50s, 60s through to their 80s.

Taylor told Newstalk ZB that the focus on youth was an emotive one, while there seems to be a tolerance for older men killing themselves.

"It's a sense of waste, they're lives just starting, we don't see death as part of youth," he said.

"Whereas with older people, particularly over 60, there's almost like there's this tolerance.
"And yet when we look at it, it's the same issues - for younger people it's a sense of futility, sense of nothing to contribute and it's the same with older men."

At the 2013 Census, men above 85 had the highest rate of suicide in New Zealand (41 per 100,000 people) followed by men between 45 and 49 (33 per 100,000).

The rate was higher than teenagers aged 15 to 19 (17 per 100,000).

"The real group is the 40 to 50 year-old men who are feeling confused, feeling despondent, they're not sure what their role is and they feel very frustrated," Taylor said.

Taylor said his research had found the biggest obstacle for Kiwi men is their "staunch stoicism" and tough bloke mentality.

"I remember one person sobbing and I said well, why can't you talk about this, your wife's concerned about you," Taylor said.

"He said I would love to talk to her but I have to be strong for her, and so he felt he could share his vulnerable side."

Taylor said he was calling for more money to be put into the suicide prevention sector and also a new approach.

"We are under-funded compared to other industrialised countries," he said.

"National's draft strategy which the ministry released earlier this year was very much like a wish list in a way, it was saying all these things but it's got no strategic thinking about where is the science of suicide, who is killing themselves, what groups of men are killing themselves and what do we have to do to address their needs."

WHERE TO GET HELP:

If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call 111.

If you need to talk to someone, the following free helplines operate 24/7:

DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757
LIFELINE: 0800 543 354
NEED TO TALK? Call or text 1737
SAMARITANS: 0800 726 666
YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633 or text 234

There are lots of places to get support. For others, click here.