‘Suicide cocoon’ identified by doctor

An Irish doctor has developed a technique to help earlier identification of people at risk of taking their own lives.

Dr Harry Barry, who has written a number of books on mental health, presented his theory of the “suicide cocoon” at a conference in Dublin yesterday to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.

“It is my belief that if we don’t understand the signs of the cocoon, we are going to struggle to reach the person in difficulty,” said Dr Barry.