Suicide is the leading cause of death in men under 49 and women under 35. With a rise in mental ill-health and suicide, there is an ever increasing need for all individuals to understand how to spot signs of distress, effectively respond, and support a person in need.
Mental Health Learning was founded in 2018 as a consultancy and training provider to support places of education and workplaces to help people to acquire this potentially life-saving knowledge. Our mission is to ensure that skills continue to grow amongst those who are most likely to see the signs of mental ill-health, self-harm, and thoughts of suicide. Our motivation is that our trainees can recognise these signs, then intervene to reduce harm in your place of education or workplace.
In this post, we’ll be discussing how these factors can contribute to suicide risk, and we’ll be sharing resources and training, both for those in need of support, and for those who are working or living with people who may be at risk.
Every life lost to suicide is a profound tragedy that sends ripples through families, communities, and society as a whole. Behind each statistic lies a human story — often shaped by social, economic, and environmental factors that go far beyond individual mental health.
In March 2025, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a review of the social determinants of suicide, and this highlighted a number of factors that could contribute to a risk of suicide.
This review challenges the idea that suicide risk is solely related to a persons mental health, and fills in the gaps in knowledge around other risk factors of suicide. Previous research has highlighted the role of social determinants of health on mental health, but their impact on suicide is less understood.
The aim of the review was to look at the link between ten social determinants of health (as defined by the World Health Organisation) and suicide mortality. It found the following associations:
- Unemployment, low income, debt, and economic downturns are significantly associated with increased suicide risk.
- Generous social protection policies (e.g., unemployment benefits) may reduce suicide rates.
- Low education and adverse working conditions (e.g., workplace violence, low job control) are associated with higher suicide risk.
- Environmental factors such as high temperatures, air pollution, natural disasters, and rural residence can elevate suicide risk.
- Childhood adversity (e.g., neglect or abuse) is also a notable contributor.
Suicide Prevention Advice & Help
⚠️If you’re worried about yourself, or if the content of this newsletter is distressing – you can access help using the resources below ⚠️
If you’re worried about someone in your community
Your intuition is the most powerful tool that could tell you if someone needs help. Even if you can’t put your finger on it but something is telling you that you ought to be concerned about someone, trust your instinct.
You might not know what to say and you may be worried about what you should do if there is something serious, but reaching out to someone doesn’t mean you have to be the only one helping them. Quite often it’s the case that we just need someone to listen and talk to.
Some of the things you’ve noticed that might be causing you concern could be:
Emotional outbursts
A change in appearance
Withdrawing from you or others
Isolating themselves where they previously didn’t
A change in mood
Seemingly hopeless talk such as “there’s no point anymore”, “i feel so low”, or “nothing is getting any better”
We all react to emotional distress in different ways so there could be other things you’ve noticed.
Start a conversation – share what you’ve noticed and ask how they are. The most important thing you can do is listen.
Empathise with their feelings, acknowledge their struggles. Don’t feel you have to try and fix what’s going on for them – showing you understand their problems will be more helpful.
It’s important for them – and you – that they have a support network of individuals and services if needed. Explore who else they can share their feelings with and support them to talk to others if they don’t feel able to do this alone.
Thoughts of suicide are not uncommon and can affect one in five adults in a lifetime. Ask about suicide clearly and directly: “Are you having thoughts of suicide?” You will not create feelings of suicide by doing this.
If you’d like further information or training in suicide prevention, don’t hesitate to reach out: Training@mentalhealthlearning.co.uk
Alice and the Mental Health Learning Team 🧠
