Suicidal talk must be taken seriously

YOUNG men are much more likely to admit to suicidal thoughts while out drinking with friends — but the remarks are often dismissed as “drunk talk” the following morning.

Research by a major national suicide prevention charity, 3Ts, has found that personal tragedies could be avoided if the seemingly over-stated comments were taken seriously by those who heard them.

The qualitative study, which was conducted between 2007 and 2010, was based on the views of six separate groups compromising 45 young men aged 18-25 and 15 young men aged 15-30 whose friends had recently taken their lives, and 54 families bereaved by the ongoing national crisis.