Depression and suicide attempts in women

More men use hanging/suffocation/strangulations than women ,a method which tends to be more fatal and with a minimal window of saving.

More women use drugs than men, which can be less fatal, there is a chance to ask for help and a larger window for intervention.

Yes all methods are used by both men and women, but men tend to pick the more violent/no going back ones.

In countries with firearms, it tends to be the most common method of suicide. Men are more likely than women to own one to begin with. They also tend to go for the head more than women.

@StockTakeFucks
WTAF are you talking about? I’m not an activist. I’m having a discussion about suicide on a feminist forum.
Are you saying feminism does not apply to men or care about men? Really?! And I thought feminism was about equality between men and women and erasing gender gaps...all of them..not just the gender gaps that favour men.

“In 2017 in the UK, as in previous years, the most common method of suicide for both males and females was hanging, suffocation or strangulation (all grouped together). This accounted for 59.7% of all suicides among males and 42.1% of all suicides among females (see Figure 8).

The second most common method of suicide was poisoning, accounting for 18.2% of all suicides among males and 38.3% of all suicides among females.”

Men and women use the SAME methods.

Actually women do NOT use different methods from men.
Both men and women mostly use hanging and poison as their suicide methods. Look it up on ONS. It’s a myth that men choose different methods from women.
In addition, men and women have equal access to the same suicide methods.
@LightsInOtherPeoplesHouses- no I am not ignoring the fact that women attempt suicide more often than men, what you are failing to see is that women are attempting and succeeding at suicide FAR LESS OFTEN than they did in the 1980s. Suicide attempts and completions NOW are less than HALF of what they were in the 1980s.

@PaperFlowers4 Yes, having close family bonds and children is a protective factor for suicide.

It makes me wonder if the age when women commit suicide is when kids start to leave home.

www.sprc.org/about-suicide/risk-protective-factors

@PaperFlowers4 I'd say yes, from the same point of view as to why women use different methods to men and why they end up as attempts rather than a completed suicide.

@AngelasAshes then

Tip1: campaign for better support for men,their services and mental health. Get involved in the community. Etc.

Tip2: do not do it on a feminist forum.

Women are far more likely to be primary/sole carers for children. I wonder if this prevents more women from committing suicide.

Sorry point of that was that anecdotally care for male / female might be different when issues present and yes absolutely try to prevent suicide in men, but most importantly try to prevent suicide in people - if that makes sense

Sorry no studies - only more anecdotal observations :)

I do remember the statistics for suicide being the biggest cause of death for men under 50 was considered in More or Less in radio 4. I think they found that that was because each different cancer was counted as a different cause of death (but a massive caveat as i might have mixed it up with something else)

On an anecdotal basis i think there is a potential issue with well publicised statistics impacting individual care. I really struggled to get my depression diagnosed, even when I managed to tell the GP i was suicidal i got nowhere (I suspect because i am a middle aged woman and the zeitgeist was very much middle aged women being over diagnosed with depression). A male friend was taken very seriously on his first gp visit, was referred and given medication. I ended up seriously ill and under the crisis team after trying to step under a train

The fact that more women were killing themselves in the 1980s to me means that today’s society is a lot better for women.

You're ignoring that women attempt suicide more often.

Suicide prevention is incredibly difficult. The one thing we know works is reducing access to methods. Women used to gas themselves with their ovens, changes to the gas supply revived that method. Paracetamol overdose used to be a big problem, we reduced the size of the packs and effectively removed it as a spur of the moment method.

Unfortunately many other methods, many more likely to be used by men, are harder to restrict access to.

Its not my experience either. I posted a link upthread that suggests it isn't at all common.
If it was common then why are women with PTSD often diagnosed with bi-polar, and why is there now a discussion about this?
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2743211/

If you look at ONS, the suicide rates for females has massively decreased since 1981. Meanwhile the suicide rates for males has barely changed.
So, I’d say we SHOULD be focusing on catching the men up. They are 4x more likely to commit suicide. That is a huge gender gap.

The fact that more women were killing themselves in the 1980s to me means that today’s society is a lot better for women. We have more job opportunities, we have more equality & economic independence, we are the majority of students at uni. I don’t know if it is even realistic to think we can get suicide to zero.

@AnotherAdultHumanFemale
“It's very presumptuous of you to assume you know what happens in every woman's counselling session.”

Er that is the pot calling the kettle black surely? After all you are the one who said “nobody ever asks you” which was speaking for all women and all counsellors. If you had said, in my personal experience...well then you’d have a point.

It’s positively Victorian to think one’s womb and it’s hormones cause depression and suicide. If that were the case, mostly women would be dying instead of men.
It’s more likely the societal pressures we all live under.
Generation X (smallest generation) has been killing itself off more than any other generation since they hit their teens and still are as they are in 40s and early 50s. They are the first generation to do worse than their parents economically in centuries due to repeated economic crashes, recessions and wars.

@WomanBornNotWorn
No, it’s not linked to menopause at all. The average age of suicide was 22-23 in 1993. It has increased yearly to current ages of 50-54.
Suicide is linked to generation....as in generation X.

The statistics speak for themselves, more men complete suicide therefore the focus is on getting them to open up, talk and seek help.

Generally women are more inclined to speak to someone if they are feeling down and this in turn should help them.

I just don't understand why it can't be neutral, just general health matters and provide awareness and support to everyone involved.

It can't be just neutral because men and women need a different approach the whole way through the system.
We don't have to do so much to encourage women to seek help and earlier, those resources should be focused on men.
Women are more likely to be lone parents than men, and are more likely to be survivors of DV. We need different kinds of support.

There may be a very small minority of people who attempt suicide because they want attention, but I doubt that it is many.

For anyone who has ever truly experienced suicidal feelings, they know that it is rarely a one hundred per cent thing. Some part wants to live and some part doesn't. It may not be that the part that doesn't want to live even wants to die as such but feels that it can no longer go on living in an untenable inner or outer situation. Most suicide attempts are cries of despair from someone who doesn't necessarily want to die but feels that they can't go on living.

I think that people who have no actual knowledge of such things should refrain from unhelpful comments.

So what's the outcome?

More women actually killing themselves just to prove they're serious about it?

Even if it was a cry for attention,what drives someone to that extreme? There are other ways that are less dangerous,painful and possibly fatal (you're relying on someone else to get there in time) to get attention.

Sadly, it is the only way sometimes to get help, and even then it's a lottery.

@Lacebug There is very poor understanding of suicide amongst a lot of people, including health professionals often leading to those who attempt suicide or self harm being treated terribly.

Sadly stories like this are not uncommon.

Divorce statistics - 45-49 is the most common age for divorce

www.crispandco.com/site/divorce-statistics/

The suicide rate in women is highest 50-54:

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2017registrations

Just when women are suffering the peri and post meno symptoms. The links are clear.

@Gingerkittykat, I too was shocked by the sheer callousness and indifference of that statement but didn't like to say anything in case I had misinterpreted it.

I once shared a flat with a nurse (general not MH) who expressed the opinion that suicidal people should "just be allowed to get on with it." It horrified me at the time and still does now.

@Holowiwi What an ignorant statement. Suicide attempts should always be taken seriously.