Self-harm rates - ‘Suicide by economic crisis’ is real

Over the past three years, Ireland has had one of the highest suicide rates in Europe, especially among young people.

Some 165 young men and teenagers took their own lives in this country in 2011, but the phenomenon is certainly not confined to the young.

The rate of suicide in Ireland, Italy, and Greece is being recognised as reaching epidemic proportions. Some European newspapers have begun writing about “suicide by economic crisis”.