Suicide amongst young men: steps in the right direction

UCD University Observer.

As suicide rates amongst young men remain consistently high, Laura McHugh looks at steps that are being taken to tackle the crisis.

The last place you would expect great ideas to be born is in the local pub, especially after a few pints. However, two Australian friends defied the odds and Movember began in 2003 with 30 participants willing to grow moustaches for the month of November.

Twelve years and 485 million euro later, the hairiest month of the year is back with Movember 2015. While Movember is mostly associated with cancer awareness, male mental health is also a core focus of the Movember Foundation.

Mental health among men is a particular concern in Ireland. Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young men in this country. According to the Central Statistics Office, there were 459 registered suicides in Ireland in 2014 and 80 per cent of those were male. Suicide by young people in Ireland was fourth highest in the EU for that year.

There are many difficulties that can threaten the mental health of young people. According to the youth mental health organisation Jigsaw, the most common issue that impacts young people is anxiety. However, isolation, stress, family problems and low self-esteem were all issues that young people reported as impacting on their mental health.

The ‘My World Survey’ of 2012 was conducted through a collaboration of Headstrong and UCD Youth Mental Health Lab’s Dr Amanda Fitzgerald and Dr Barbara Dooley. This study on youth mental health in Ireland found some striking results. Of the 14,000 young people (aged 12-25) that participated in the study, 35 per cent had levels of depression which were of concern. 51 per cent of youths aged between 17 and 25 reported suicidal thoughts, 7 per cent of those had attempted suicide. With these figures in mind it is easy to understand how Ireland has come to rank so high in youth suicide rates in the EU.

While women are more likely to have depression, men are far more likely to commit suicide. While not the only reason, higher levels of suicide in males is often related to men being less likely than women to seek help when it comes to mental health concerns.

“COPING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES SUCH AS DEPRESSION ALONE CAN OFTEN ESCALATE AN ALREADY SERIOUS CONDITION”

It is often found that men will not speak to their social network or to professionals if they are experiencing mental health concerns. This lack of expression can often be due to protecting social ideals of masculinity; men do not want to seem weak for asking for help. Denial that there is actually an issue is also detrimental to seeking help for mental health concerns. The attitudes of the public towards mental health can also be a further barrier to males seeking help for the issues affecting them.

Coping with mental health issues such as depression alone can often escalate an already serious condition. Rather than seeking help, youths who decide to deal with depression alone are more likely to endorse maladaptive coping strategies such as alcohol and drug use. Alcohol often leads to impulsive behaviour, so it is not surprising that suicide completers are often found to have high blood alcohol levels. The lack of social support that also comes with trying to deal with depression alone is also detrimental as it can increase levels of depression and make bad situations even worse. Therefore, men who die by suicide often do so without ever having attempted to seek help for their difficulties.

On a national level, Samaritans are very aware of the increased risk of suicide amongst young men. As a result, they focus much of their outreach at targeting young males. The GAA and Samaritans became a partnership in 2014 in order to reach out to men across the 32 counties. The two organisations are working to reduce the stigma around mental health and encourage young men to contact them not only if they feel suicidal but about anything from depression to isolation and family issues.

Earlier in 2015 the government also launched ‘Connecting for Life’, a national strategy to reduce suicide in Ireland. The aims of this strategy include improving on understandings of suicide, making services more accessible to vulnerable groups and encouraging research in the area of suicide. This strategy has a strong evidence base behind it including analysis of CSO figures, reviews of research and personal accounts from members of the public affected by suicide. Young people are a particular focus for this strategy as well as those with mental health difficulties, the LGBT community and asylum seekers amongst other vulnerable groups. In relation to the Connecting for Life strategy, Samaritans have stated “we believe the strategy has the potential to address the social and economic factors which impact on suicidal behaviour if it is implemented.”

In UCD, a number of steps have been taken in order to address youth suicide rates. UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) are running a year long fundraising campaign in order to raise funds for Youth Suicide Prevention Ireland (YSPI). SU Welfare Officer Clare O’Connor stated, “Our goal is to raise over €100,000 for this charity which depends entirely on public donations in the absence of support from the state.” During the year long campaign YSPI representatives will continue to come to the university and give talks on suicide and self-harm.

UCD have also put forward a policy in the last year which outlines the recommended steps for staff in order to respond to students who are in distress due to mental health difficulties. Within the University there is also the opportunity for staff to receive Safe Talk and ASIST training. Suicide prevention is the core focus of these two workshops. In these workshops trainees are taught to identify individuals who are at risk from suicide and trained to keep these people safe until further help can be obtained.

Student advisors, the chaplaincy service and the counselling service are also available in the University if students wish to talk about any issues that are troubling them. In relation to UCD counselling service, O’Connor stated that she would “like to see the budget for counselling services here in UCD increased by University management.”

It appears that in light of recent figures on suicide in Ireland, local and national authorities have stepped up in order to combat the issue. While we have a long road ahead, there have been some steps in the right direction in relation to suicide, particularly amongst young men in this country.

Weightloss

Lifting the Load Long-term Obesity is the disease of the 21st century (Rossner, 2002). We all know somebody who struggles with their weight. They decide to take action, determined to shed those extra pounds. They deprive themselves of indulgences like chocolate biscuits with their tea, they go out jogging wind hail or shine and they even subscribe to weekly editions of weight watchers magazine. This behaviour results in successful weight loss in most cases. However, after a couple of months their weight has returned, back to square one again, why? Relapse in weight loss is often due to failure to adhere to the weight-management behaviours that were undertaken in order to lose weight (Byrne, 2002). Avoiding those chocolate biscuits only lasts for so long! Like Pavlov, this definitely rings a bell! I am the perfect example of failure to maintain weight loss behaviours. I constantly delete my calorie counting apps only to re-download them a month later. The gym becomes my home for about 3 weeks and then we part ways for the rest of the year. Let’s be honest, this describes a lot you out there too! Even behavioural treatment fails to help maintain weight loss with half of the weight lost being regained within a year (Wadden, Sternberg, Letizia, Stunkard, & Foster, 1989) and all if not more of the weight being regained after 5 years (Wadden & frey, 1997).  However, there are success stories out there, some people lose weight and keep it off. What are the differences between those who regain their weight and those who maintain their new lower weight? Here are some factors that have been found to contribute:    Self-Efficacy: Self efficacy in this context refers to belief in one’s ability in relation to weight loss behaviour. For example, believing in your ability to do the necessary exercise or to refrain from eating unhealthy food. Research has shown that those with higher self-efficacy in relation to weight loss behaviour maintain weight loss more than those with low self-efficacy.                                                                                  Coping Skills: The ability to cope with stress has also been related to successful weight loss management. Failure to cope appropriately with stress can result in eating in response to negative emotions. However, effective problem-solving in relation to stressors reduces negative emotions and this makes eating as a means of regulating emotions less likely. Weight Goals: Differences in goal achievement have been shown to effect whether weight loss is maintained or not. Research has suggested that those who successfully achieve their weight loss goal in the first place are more likely to maintain their new lower weight. It was suggested that this is due to satisfaction with new weight and increased concern and attention paid to changes in weight as a result. However, failure to achieve goals may leave individuals feeling like weight loss behaviours are not worthwhile.   Dichotomous thinking:  The notion of dichotomous thinking is also known as ‘All or nothing thinking’ or ‘Black and white thinking’. This type of thinking is never good; it has been related to depression (Beck, 1976) and anorexia (Garner & Bemis, 1982) as well as other psychological difficulties along with failure to maintain weight loss behaviour. Dichotomous thinking can be related to weight goals as it can leave an individual feeling like they have failed if they do not reach their target.  As mentioned in the last point, this perception of failure means the person is not motivated to continue their weight loss behaviour.

So what are the take home messages here? What can you do maintain your hard earned weight loss? Well, firstly you can believe in your ability to lose weight, you can set realistic goals and do your best to achieve them. However, it is important to remember that any weight loss is progress so do not think that you have failed if you do not reach your target. For anyone who is interested in reading more about this, here are some links to studies by Byrne (2002) and Byrne and colleagues (2004). These links are the source of much of this information. Sit down with a cup of tea and have a read…..but remember no biscuits! An Article by Susan M. Byrne on Psychological Aspects of Weight Maintenance and Relapse in Obesity Article Relating to Psychological Predictors of Weight Regain in Obesity

Thesis/dissertations....some advice

I want to write a different type of post today...if you are only here for the wacky psychological theories then byeeeee! See you next time!

I am writing this post because I have recently completed my final year dissertation. Having started the experience with absolutly no clue what to expect, I want to post afew things that I think will be of benefit to someone starting their dissertation/thesis. So if you know anyone who is starting out or will be doing one soon then feel free to share this. 

1. Try to plan in advance: 

I began to think about my dissertation the summer before the start of my final year. Have an idea of the area that you want to do your dissertation in. I stumbled upon the topic of body image and was immediately interested. BUT...do not get too attached to an idea and have afew others floating around in case. I lost count of all the topics I thought I was going to do. In the end I came back to the topic that I had looked at in summer.

2. Brush up on your statistics knowledge....Seriously: 

I went into my my dissertation with absolultly no clue how to calculate sample size. It was something I had to just figure out myself which took up alot of time. I had good knowledge in other areas of stats which made those parts easy. Bottom line...figuring out stats will use up alot of your time. 

3. Accept that somethings are just out of your control: 

Other than one or two group projects, this was the first time I really had to rely on others as part of my work. There are participants who will  not show up and you have to rely on your supervisor for things you don't know enough about. Try not to stress about things you can't control, you can only do so much, have a little faith...it will work out. 

4. Don't waste time...just get it done.

We were provided with guidelines to ensure we had things done in time. This was a brilliant guide to keep me on track. If you aren't given one, make one for yourself and stick to it as best you can. I got my data collected as realistically early as possible which prevented last minute rushing. Getting things done in time will seriously allow you to avoid stress.

5. Baby steps...:

Take pride in the little things...I was always proud of ticking of things on my guidelines sheet.

You have finialised your idea...achievement!!

Ethical approval gained....achievement!!

You have conducted a literature review.....achievement!! 

In summary, it is a step by step process...one thing at a time. That said, planning and timing are key! ''By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail'' You said it Benjie!!