Suicide: The Unspoken Issue

Written by Ellen O'Brien

Youth suicide in Australia has reached worrying new heights, but could the answer be as simple as talking?

A deciding factor in the recent federal election mental health is typically discussed in terms of grants and budgets, but the long-term solution may lie in the direction of social reconditioning - dispelling the stigma attached to mental illness and refocusing on family support groups.

Mr Harry Weigele, senior occupational therapist at Perth Clinic, deals daily with mental illness and has observed a marked increase in teenage depression and anxiety.

‘We have a serious problem with mental health in youth in Australia.

‘There is a very high anxiety and depression rate in the 16-24 year old age group, and suicide has actually overtaken motor vehicle accidents as the number one cause of death in this age group, which is appalling.

‘It’s tougher for young people now.

There is no doubt the demands in 2010 and 2011 have ramped up and I just think  it’s a struggle.

‘When I went to school I didn’t know anyone who had tried to kill themselves, but now I think you would know at least a couple of people who had attempted, or even succeeded.

‘It’s a different kind of world,’ said Mr Weigele.

Mr Weigele identified high school as the starting point, with the appearance of symptoms such as avoidance, isolation and bullying.

‘The sort of adolescents we see are pretty unwell, they may have had suicidal thoughts, or a suicide attempt, or may be self harming.

‘Quite prevalent in adolescents is drug use, then you’re dealing with the dual diagnosis of depression or anxiety and substance abuse,’ said Mr Weigele.

A Family's Importance

The debate over prescribed medication still rages on, but Mr Weigele is firmly in favour of family support and behavioural therapy.

‘I think medication is overprescribed and overused and certainly if you can, you try to keep people out of hospital as much as possible.

‘Generally speaking you would look at a holistic approach, and if you want the best overall treatment with the best outcomes, you really need to consider what is happening for the adolescent in terms of their family, in terms of relationships and the way they perceive and interact with the world around them,’ said Mr Weigele.



‘If a patient doesn’t want family members involved, then that’s their right. But certainly in terms of younger people, to engage the family in therapy is essential,’ said Mr Weigele.

The nuclear family is often at the root of the problem, and their involvement can help identify what triggered the illness.

‘Its very hard to generalise with families,

‘You can get very unwell and disturbed adolescents coming from very good families, that are supportive and can’t identify trauma in their life.

‘But having said that, it is much more likely that there may have been some early life experiences such as abuse, or issues with parenting or marital separation,’ said Mr Weigele.

Michelle Sanders*, 22, was diagnosed with severe depression in 2008 and kept it from her family until last November.

‘I didn’t want to tell them because of the way they would react, and they reacted pretty much the way I assumed they would,’ said Miss Sanders.

‘My mum blames herself.

‘She tells me to snap out of it and doesn’t support me.

‘I think she doesn’t know enough about the issue- when I went to the clinic she refused to come and see me,’ said Miss. Sanders.

Earlier this year Miss Sander’s symptoms worsened to the point where her life was in jeopardy.

‘There were times when I got so low, times when I just wanted to end my life… I have cut myself,’ said Miss Sanders.

By this stage she had realised the importance of talking but wished she had opened up sooner.

The biggest hurdle for Miss. Sanders was finding the courage to approach someone.

‘It was really hard to speak to the GP.

‘You’ve got to find one that’s really good, that wants to listen to you, that wants to help you,’ said Miss. Sanders.

Miss. Sanders implored parents to attend information sessions and meet with therapists, and encouraged sufferers to ask for help.

‘You’re not alone.

‘There are more people than you think going through this, and you should get help and talk to someone, or things will get very hard,’ said Miss Sanders.



While it is essential to develop a support network, the extent of this group is entirely up to the individual.

‘I’ve found in my role as a therapist that I can’t say to someone, “Be honest. Write in your CV that you’ve had depression,” That I would call a personal judgement,’ said Mr Weigele.

There are many Australia wide organisations, such as The Butterfly Foundation, Beyond Blue and Crisis Care that provide information and support for people who believe they are suffering from, or know someone who is suffering from mental illness.

‘Anxiety disorders are common, but the sooner you get help, the sooner you can learn to control these conditions, so they don’t control you,’ reads the Beyond Blue website (www.beyondblue.org.au).

The website also features a diagnostic survey and information for the supporters of a mentally ill person.

Miss Sanders stressed the importance of feeling comfortable with the people you talk to.

‘If your GP doesn’t listen to you, find one that does.

‘Unfortunately a lot of GP’s just want to put you on medication and have done with you,’ said Miss Sanders.

Every signal is a distress signal.

‘If you’re a supporter, don’t be wussy about it, do ask and do step in,’ asserted Mr Weigele.

‘It’s particularly important if they are behaving in a way that’s against their best interest, or are expressing suicidal ideas.

‘If they are saying they won’t see a doctor, it is okay to say “I’m going to drag you there”. other way round.

‘The ideal, of course, is that there is collaboration between the person who is struggling and the supporter, that they could say, “Can I call on you? Can I talk to you? And can you give me feedback if you feel that I’m isolating myself or behaving in a way which might worsen my illness?”’ said Mr Weigele.

Miss. Sanders found her friends indispensible, but was aware of their limitations in a supportive role.

‘I found that my friends thought they knew it all and tried to help me, but sometimes it made the situation worse.

‘It’s good to confide in a friend, but sometimes they don’t know how to help and that’s where awareness and support groups should come in,’ said Miss Sanders.

Spreading the word.

Earlier this year, Dannielle Cross, 20, was moved to organise the ‘Suicide Prevention and Awareness Ball’.

‘My co-organiser had a friend who passed away through suicide last year and we know people who have had problems and unfortunately didn’t make it, so there was a huge personal motivation,’ said Miss Cross.

The response to the event was astounding.

‘A lot of people wrote emails to me, saying “I’m so glad you’re doing what you’re doing, my brother, or my sister, or my friend, or my cousin, or my mum…”

‘It was so sad, but at the same time it was good to know we were actually doing something,’ said Miss. Cross.

Targeting the issue of awareness, Miss. Cross called attention to the lack of exposure.

‘The ball was for the awareness factor rather than the money factor- anyone can donate 3000 dollars, but knowledge is priceless,’ Miss. Cross said.

‘We had a youth representative from Inspire come to talk to us, and she told us that one in every three teens will suffer from depression.

‘It definitely needs to be talked about more… when we went around asking for donations and told them what we were fundraising for, people were taken aback.

‘It was a touchy subject they didn’t want much to do with.

‘People are scared to talk about it, so there should be more in the media, more coverage of the issue,’ said Miss Cross.

Despite the success of the event, Miss Cross described it as a hollow victory.

On her way out of the bank, minutes after cashing the 3000 dollar cheque, she received a phone call from a close friend with the news that his brother had committed suicide.

‘This was exactly what we were trying to prevent, but a few days later the coroner turned up at their house and it was all over,’ said Miss Cross.

Miss Cross is aware of the size of the problem, but she is determined to spread the word about mental illness.

‘It’s big commitment, but if we can do it again, with more people on board, then sure,’ said Miss. Cross.

The battle is only just beginning, but with an open mind and a little trust, it is possible to turn the tide of teenage suicide.

As Mr Weigele said:  ‘People are actually a lot nicer, a lot more supportive and a lot more caring than you might think.

‘When you share your problems, I think you may be surprised that your friends and family are there for you.

‘The hard part is accepting that and dealing with the fear of being honest.’

* Name has been changed.