We will most likely see a growth in suicides when the latest annual data is released in Australia (last year was in September). Since last year greater awareness of situational distress as the leading cause of male suicide is getting recognition and believe we are nearly on the cusp to tackling the core issues that are driving up the increasing rates of mental health and suicide.
- People are now asking the questions as to why if we increase expenditure in the mental health and suicide prevention areas the problem is getting worse!
- The myth that “men don’t talk” does not stack up is gaining greater recognition. There is a massive proportion of male suicides occurring after engaging with the primary health care networks. These are men that are communicating.
- People are also asking is the service design and investment both in service delivery and research are appropriate for 50% of the population and the 75% of those completing suicide
- I see posts using data from the Australian Men’s Health Forum showing the dramatic rates of increase in the likelihood of suicide due to many causes such as marital separation, not seeing children, litigation, financial issues and in many cases these are all occurring at once and hence the perfect storm for suicide is prescribed.
- Possibly the largest demographic of males suiciding is due to Family Separation so has there been research into the root cause of just conjecture like “men don’t talk”?
As with my background, many business and marketing professionals will recognise that the environment needs to be right and the service relevant, otherwise the product or business fails. When this happens at an industry wide level then industry disruption follows (with all existing players left confounded).
On the 23 November 2018 the National Mental Health Commission wrote “Whole-of-Government approach is key to mental health reform”. Since then I completed the book “The Pinball Machine The Family Separation Industry and Parental Alienation” which is from my personal experience and that of dealing with so many others to highlight the issues, how and why the Government and their agencies, police, lawyers and others contribute to the mental health and suicide tragedy. Perhaps the policy people in government looking for the first attempt at a whole of government approach need to analyse the book and consider the implications. A former member of the UN Human Rights Committee and many others seems to think so!
Trevor Cooper
#parentalalienation #mentalhealth #thepinballmachine #suicide #situationaldistress #worldsuicideday #disruption