People with 'lived experiences' of suicide could be key to prevention.

By Sam Ikin

Listening to people who have survived a suicide attempt could be key to the way Australia approaches prevention, a peak body has said, as new data reveals an increase in the number of people taking their own lives.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show 2,861 people died from suicide in 2014, up from 2,335 in the previous report, released in 2009.

That equates to almost a 14 per cent increase.

Suicide was found to be the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 44.

Lifeline Australia described the situation as an emergency and said the ABS figures meant there were almost eight suicides every day or one every three hour.

Lifeline CEO Pete Schmigel said it was time for Australia’s health authorities to acknowledge it was a crisis.

“Devastating is the only way to describe the increase in deaths by suicide in Australia,” he said.

“We cannot forget that behind these numbers are tragic stories of trauma and heartache for mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends, colleagues and whole communities.”

While it ranked 13th on the overall list of causes of death, suicide accounted for more than 97,000 years of potential life lost, significantly more than the country’s top killer, heart disease, which was about 77,000.

“About three-quarters (75.4 per cent) of people who died by suicide were male, making intentional self-harm the 10th leading cause of death for males,” the report stated.

Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) has described suicide as a “human behaviour — a response to unbearable psychological pain”.

SPA chief executive Sue Murray said drastic action was needed to start to reduce the loss of life.

“We must change the way we approach prevention if we are to have any chance of reducing suicides in this country,” she said.

Ms Murray has echoed calls by other suicide prevention experts for people with a “lived experience” of suicide to share what they know.

“People who have lived through suicidal crisis have unique insights that will help build our knowledge and understanding,” she said.

“What drove them there? More importantly, what helped them live?”

Ms Murray said suicide was costing Australia dearly on both an economic and social scale.

“It causes immense grief and loss for those who are bereaved by suicide as well as the suffering and pain experienced by those who attempt or think about suicide,” she said.

Suicide survivor realised ‘she didn’t want to die’

Peta Dampney is the daughter of a mental health nurse and said she was the last person her friends would expect would be vulnerable to suicide.

She tried to take her own life in 2005.

“I was what you would call a high-functioning depressive in that I completely didn’t fit the stereotype that was often portrayed in the media,” Ms Dampney said.

“It’s usually glamourised with people’s heads in their hands and the sky is always grey and people are wearing hoodies — I was completely not that person.

“I was a high achiever, really extroverted, all the way through high school, all the way through uni.”

Ms Dampney said it was not until she finished her degree and had a transition year where she hit rock bottom.

She said she did reach out to her friends, but they were not equipped to help her and she did not want to burden her parents with her problems.

“I got to the point where I just went ‘nope, this isn’t okay and I do want to end things’,” Ms Dampney said.

“It was only fortunate for me that in the process of trying I realised ‘hey I don’t want this, I don’t want to die’ and I called an ambulance.

“That was my eye opening moment where I went ‘hang on a second’. I was balling my eyes out going ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die’.”

“I realised then and there that was me taking responsibility for myself.”

Ms Dampney said she was not surprised that the number of people taking their own lives had increased.

“There’s too much emphasis on physical health and dressing the part by putting on the exercise gear, but we are not thinking about what is happening inside the brain,” she said.

Ms Dampeny said there was a huge amount of pressure to balance work and life and was causing people to ignore taking care of themselves first.

But she said she thought the increase in numbers could also be because the stigma around suicide was slowly being removed.

“We’re starting to see an increase in the numbers because its being better reported and more people are being more frank about disclosing information,” Ms Dampney said.

“Previously a lot of it was sort of shushed down and put down as an alternative cause of death.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

If you or a loved one is suffering with mental illness, Mamamia urges you to contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24 hour support.