If we all talked about suicide, wouldn’t that be better for everyone?

Suicide awareness has increased over the years, but it hasn’t translated into people feeling comfortable talking about it with a distressed person. Photograph: Dumitru Ochievschi/Alamy Stock Vector

Suicide is a topic that gets a lot of media airtime; however, not many people are able to talk about it in their personal lives with friends or family.

This is not surprising, considering the nature of the topic and the stigma and helplessness that many people experience when talking about suicide. At this point in my career as a psychiatrist, I believe that almost everyone has been affected by a suicide or suicide attempt.