Lifeline reminds Australians that suicide doesn’t discriminate
Lifeline Australia
- Each year, an estimated 703,000 people die by suicide worldwide.
- In 2021, there were 3,144 suicide deaths in Australia. (ABS Causes of Death, 2022)
- View the videos from the Suicide Doesn’t Discriminate campaign here.
This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day is Sunday, 10th September —Lifeline is reminding Australians that suicide can affect everyone and encouraging anyone who is doing it tough to reach out for help through the organisation’s 24/7 phone and digital crisis support services.
To reduce the stigma that surrounds suicide, Lifeline has launched the Suicide Doesn’t Discriminate campaign, shining a light on the experiences of those with a lived and living experience of suicide and suicidality. The campaign brings together two pairs of individuals from very different backgrounds to discuss both shared and distinctive parts of their stories on camera.
One of the interviewees, Imbi, has worked alongside her husband for years to shed light on the challenges they experienced when one of their children suffered a life-altering event.
“Our youngest son had a horrendous trauma happen to him when he was twelve, and we lived with the fear of him taking his own life”, says Imbi.
“Four years ago, I reached the lowest point in my entire life, where I also didn’t want to live one year longer, and I reached out to Lifeline”.
“People would think, you know, how could you have felt like that – and yet I did. It just shows you that it can happen to anyone”.
Lifeline Australia CEO Colin Seery said that real people sharing wide-ranging experiences was an important way of illustrating that a ‘typical’ look doesn’t exist in the context of suicide.
“It’s important to raise awareness around how suicide often doesn’t look how you’d think it would. It is incredibly complex, evidenced by the fact that two people can have the exact same backgrounds, yet have different experiences, and vice versa”, says Mr Seery.
“This campaign is all about amplifying the voices of those who have lived with or continue to live with suicidality and mental health issues. By doing this, we can help reduce the stigma and encourage anyone who needs it to reach out for support”.
“It is crucial that no one feels they have to face their struggles alone. Please, if you feel you need support, reach out to someone you know or call Lifeline. Our Crisis Supporters continue to be available on our 13 11 14 phone service as well as our text and chat channels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”.
View the videos from the Suicide Doesn’t Discriminate campaign here.
Meanwhile, former Australian Rules footballer, star basketballer and Lifeline ambassador Archie Smith is calling on people across Australia to lace up their shoes and walk 9km on Sunday 10th September for the 9 Australians who lose their lives to suicide each day.
The annual Out of the Shadows Walk will take place all over Australia on World Suicide Prevention Day to remember the lives lost to suicide, and to raise funds for Lifeline to continue to provide vital crisis support and to make sure that nobody has to face their darkest moments alone.
You can phone Lifeline to speak to a Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14, text 0477 131 114 , chat to Lifeline online or access the Support Toolkit to self-manage what you’re going through at www.lifeline.org.au (all services are available 24/7).
ABOUT LIFELINE
Lifeline is Australia’s leading suicide prevention service, operating the 13 11 14 telephone line within 41 centres around the nation as well as a 24/7 crisis text, webchat service and Support Toolkit.
The organisation expects to respond to over one million requests for support this year, creating an average of 120 safety plans to keep a person experiencing suicidal ideation safe every day.
