Most suicides occur during the Christmas season, which is a plausible-sounding thesis. A dark time of year coupled with a contrasting sense of loneliness over the holidays, while others are celebrating in large family settings.
The sadness over one's own loneliness would contrast with the image of the intact family. The glamorous celebration together opposite the quiet, lonely and dark apartment. Lots of questions, no answers.
A loneliness over three supposedly sociable holidays that makes many people think and therefore plunge into depression. In the end there is the choice of suicide.
As convincing as this argument may sound, it is not true. The statement about a high suicide rate during the Christmas season cannot be statistically proven and is therefore obviously a myth.
Fact check suicide at Christmas time
The statistics speak a completely different language. In fact, there are fewer suicides in December than generally expected. Various studies even show that there are even fewer cases.
“We were able to prove for the first time in Austria that the fewest suicides are committed over Christmas,” says internist David Niederseer about a study by Salzburg researchers on the suicide rate. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Health also writes in a guide about suicide prejudices:
Wrong: Most suicides occur at Christmas or in the gray November.
Correct: Most suicides in Austria usually occur in spring, while the number at Christmas/New Year is rather low.
In fact, according to statistics, there is even a consensus that December is not the month with the high suicide rate. Instead, the numbers are quite high after the turn of the year and sometimes into May. A statistical presentation in the article “Suicide Prevention: Facts and Figures about Suicide” by Bayerischer Rundfunk provides a fairly good overview of this.
In this respect, we need to seriously rethink the image of the Christmas season and suicides and instead focus on the following months.
Important contacts and advice centers:
Germany
- German Society for Suicide Prevention (DGS) – offers of help: https://www.suizizidprophylaxe.de/hilfsangebote/adressen/
- The Federal Association of Relatives of the Mentally Ill - Overview of psychiatric help: https://www.psychiatrie.de/beratung.html
- Telephone counseling: Tel. 0800 / 111 0 111 or 0800 / 111 0 222 (free of charge). Online: https://www.telefonseelsorge.de/ (chat advice and email advice)
- Nationwide advice centers for children and young people (mainly the German Child Protection Association): Tel. 0800 / 111 03 33
- Email advice for young people from Caritas (U25): https://www.u25-deutschland.de/
- German Depression Help: Depression Info Telephone: 0800 / 334 45 33 German Depression Help – Where can I find help?: https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/depression-infos-und-hilfe/wo-finde-ich-hilfe
- German Depression Aid – What relatives and friends can do: https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/depression-infos-und-hilfe/rat-fuer-angehoerige
- World Suicide Prevention Day: http://welttag-suizidpraevention.de/
Austria
- Psychiatric emergency help (midnight to midnight): 01/313 30
- Crisis Intervention Center (Mon-Fri 10-5): 01/406 95 95
- Advice and help if you are at risk of suicide: 0810/97 71 55
- Social psychiatric emergency service: 01/310 87 79
- Telephone counseling (0-24, free of charge): 142
- Advice on the wire (midnight to midnight, for children & young people): 147
- Concern hotline for children, young people and adults (Mon-Sat 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., free of charge): 0800/20 14 40
Sources:
Symbolic image of suicides, article image by Dani DG / Shutterstock.com
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