Suicide less of a social taboo

REMOVING the stigma from suicide could unwittingly send out the message to vulnerable people that taking your life is an option in certain circumstances, a leading psychiatrist has warned.

Professor of Psychiatry at UCD Dr Patricia Casey told pilgrims at the annual Knock Shrine Novena in Mayo yesterday that taboos and sanctions serve useful functions in controlling social behaviour.

"Those who speak of the removal of the stigma of suicide should tread very warily indeed," Dr Casey said. The overall suicide trend was upward and last year over 400 people, mostly men, died by their own hand, she said.