Post holiday depression

Many people believe that suicide rates are at their highest during the winter months, specifically around Christmas, when many people struggle with loneliness, strains on their finances, and exacerbated family issues.

The truth in fact, is that the bulk of research consistently shows that the spring/summer months result in the highest number of suicides, a pattern that has remained consistent for many years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the highest number of suicides in the U.S in 2021 occurred in August. In fact, one study found that cardiac mortality is at its highest around Christmas and New Year’s than any other time of the year, making it far more of a risk factor than suicide at that time of year.

The Christmas suicide myth spreads the false idea that suicide rates increase during the holidays and while it is a positive to see cultural discussions of suicide and mental health, it’s important to recognize that suicide is a complex health issue, and can occur when a variety of biological, psychological and environmental factors come together, often triggered by stressful events.

A study from 2014 examining suicide rates in Queensland, Australia found that between 1990 and 2009 there were significantly more suicides reported on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day than other days. This time of year is the height of summer in Australia.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S, with 45,979 recorded suicides in 2020, and the number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020 alone, 12.2 million Americans seriously considered killing themselves, 3.2 million planned a suicide and 1.2 million attempted it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Death by suicide accounts for more fatalities worldwide than accidents, homicides, and war combined.

Despite these shocking statistics and the evident threat of suicide, false and damaging myths about suicide are still prevalent within society, and one of the main ones is that suicide rates go up at Christmas. The Annenberg Public Policy Center regularly conducts research looking at the frequency with which the media falsely link the holidays with a rise in suicides. Between 2010 and 2014, 70 percent of U.S. media outlets supported the myth, while only 30 percent debunked it. Despite this, December 2017 had the lowest rate of suicide in the U.S. of every month in the year.

Are Suicide Rates Actually Higher at Christmas?

The short—and heavily supported by research—answer is no. Suicide by nature can be hard to quantify, with so many going unrecorded. However, the vast majority of global research shows that the holidays often report the lowest suicide rates of the entire year.

“The Holiday Suicide Myth is indeed a myth,” said Leila Azarbad, Ph.D., professor of psychology at North Central College, “in fact, suicide rates drop during the winter months and rise in the spring. November and December tend to have the lowest suicide rates, whereas April, May and June tend to have the highest rates.”

Doreen Marshall, Ph.D., vice president of mission engagement at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention agreed said, “While it is common to experience complex feelings of loneliness, grief and depression during the holiday season, the idea that suicide rates rise in December and on Christmas is not true. We do not typically see more suicide deaths in December than in other months of the year.”

Why Do We Think Suicide Rates Go Up at Christmas?

While suicide rates might be at their lowest, Christmas can often be a time of heightened stress for many . A 2021 poll by the American Psychiatric Association found that out of 2,100 people surveyed, 41 percent reported increased stress during the holidays. Similarly, a study from the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 24 percent of people with a diagnosed mental illness reported that the holidays made their condition “a lot” worse and 40 percent reported it made it “somewhat” worse.”

Azarbad said that it’s possible the media perpetuates this myth in an effort to validate and normalize the “holiday blues” experienced by many and Dan Romer, Ph.D., research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania agreed. He said, “We think it has to do with the goal of providing advice to people about dealing with holiday stress, which then merges into the idea that this time of the year is actually a time of greater suicide risk. It also meshes with other theories like shorter days and seasonal affective disorder.”

While it can be considered a good thing that this myth is in fact a myth, experts suggest that this misinformation can do damage.

“It goes against the reporting recommendations which encourage giving people accurate information about suicide and not encouraging contagion, which is the phenomenon of thinking that suicide is a solution to life problems that others are taking,” said Romer. Cynthia Vejar, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and program director of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lebanon Valley College suggested that a positive symptom of this myth may be that “this awareness might alert people to the fact that others are struggling, and people might be inclined to check-in on others during this time of year”.

Why Are Suicide Rates Lower at Christmas?

Despite heightened levels of stress over the holidays and the effects of the weather and Seasonal Affective Disorder , suicide rates are almost unanimously reported to be lower at Christmas globally than any other time of the year.

Despite this, experts agree that a possible reason that suicide rates are lower around the holidays is the tradition of forgiveness and family. Marshall said, “many people may think about the holiday season and connect to traditions which ground us in our histories, our feelings toward one another, and our hope for a new year. The holidays can be a time for introspection that inspires people to check in on ourselves and connect with our loved ones. Holiday festivities and gatherings might also serve to bolster protective factors, such as feeling connected to family and community support, that encourage help-seeking for those struggling.”

This community sense of togetherness during hard times directly feeds in to Durkheim’s theory that periods of external threat create group integration within society and lower the suicide rate through the impact on social cohesion.

This can be seen historically as one study from 2003 found that after the tragic events of September 11, suicide rates in England and Wales immediately afterwards were significantly lower than other months in the same year, and any other September for the past 22 years as people came together to support each other through the tragedy.

The CDC reported that suicide rates in the U.S had been steadily rising every year between 2004 and 2019, but after the COVID-19 restrictions took over the world, despite risk factors caused by the isolation increasing, suicide rates actually dropped from March 2020 . Experts believe that, as at Christmas, the sense of communal feeling led people to reach out more to loved ones, whether for help or to help, leading people to have increased communication and support than during regular times.

This theory is also supported by the CDC data showing that in 2021, when restrictions largely eased in the U.S., the suicide rate went up as people began to resume their normal lives, and the collective support system waned. Despite this rise, the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that the average daily suicide rate during the holiday months remained among the lowest in the year.

Why Are Suicide Rates Higher in Spring?

Our experts all agree that suicide rates in the U.S. are higher in the spring and summer months than in the winter or around the holidays. The Annenberg Public Policy Center reported in 2017 that the average amount of suicides per day in December was 117.00, the lowest of the year compared to 137.71 in August, the highest.

In its latest report, the APPC reported that in 2021/2022, only 37 percent of stories that mentioned the link between the holidays and suicide debunked it, despite December 2021 seeing an average of 121.81 suicides per day, compared to 139.61 in August.

Vejar suggests that it may be that “there is an expectation that with the warmer weather, people will be happier and more inclined to be outdoors, participating in fun activities with family/friends. If people are struggling with mental health concerns, and/or if they have strained relationships with loved ones, a spotlight might be shined on the fact that they should be happy/doing fun things but they are not— in other words, their expectations and realities are incongruent with each other and this causes a sense of grief”.

Some experts have even made the link between increased risk factors such as allergies leading to a spike in suicides in the warmer months. Johns Hopkins HealthCare reports that “there is overwhelming evidence that inflammation from various sources including allergic reactions can cause or worsen depression”. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that there are approximately 52.9 million recorded people living with mental health issues in the U.S, while Johns Hopkins HealthCare reports that 50 million Americans suffer from allergies. They report that the chances of depression in people with rhinitis (both allergic and non-allergic) is 42 percent higher than those who don’t.

What Suicide Help Is Available?

Azarbad said that a key misconception about suicide is that talking about suicide or asking someone if they feel suicidal will encourage suicide attempts. “The research has shown that this is simply not true. In fact, asking someone if they are thinking about suicide is a crucial step toward offering support and obtaining proper treatment”.

“It’s important to know you’re not alone,” Marshall said, “If you are struggling with mental health and/or suicide, there are a number of suicide prevention resources , such as visiting your primary care provider or local walk-in clinic. Mental health professionals have education, tools, and resources to support someone that is struggling with their mental health and can help work through challenges they may be facing. In a crisis situation, text TALK to 741741 at the Crisis Text Line or call the National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline at 988.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

New fathers should get better mental health support so they can help take the ‘pressure’ off mothers, NHS chiefs have said.

The NHS in England is expanding support services for partners of women who have had a baby, with options being trialled including face-to-face counselling, organised ‘dad-and-kids’ pram walks and Zoom games nights.

Research shows around one in four women experience mental health issues during pregnancy or in the postnatal period.

Up to half of partners of mothers with postnatal depression also have depression themselves.

In a blog post, NHS England’s associate national clinical director for perinatal mental health, Dr Giles Berrisford, and chief midwifery officer, Professor Jaqueline Dunkley-Bent, praised new services which were supporting ‘fathers who are scared and overwhelmed or unsure how to support their partners’.

They wrote: ‘Through [these] activities, new dads can gain confidence as parents and talk about their mental health – and this makes a real difference to how they can then support mothers.’

They also raised concerns the image of mothers as ‘our modern times superheroes’ was heaping pressure on pregnant women and new mothers.

‘Mothers are often seen as the pillars of family life. This comes with a lot of pressure and can negatively impact women,’ they wrote.

‘Pregnancy and becoming a mother can be extremely challenging…

‘We need to take the pressure off and support mothers, especially those who face depression, anxiety, psychosis and/or trauma.’

The plans to increase mental health support for fathers is part of a raft of measures aimed at preventing suicides in new parents.

Other plans include extending the period within which women can access postnatal mental health support to two years after birth, up from 12 months, and rolling out dedicated Maternal Mental Health Services which combine services for women experiencing pregnancy and postnatal mental health conditions, as well as those dealing with infertility, baby loss and birth trauma.

Pregnancy and postnatal mental health problems cost the NHS an estimated £1.2 billion every year, while costing the wider economy around £8.1billion – largely due to the impact of mothers’ mental health problems on their children.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the UK, with the latest figures showing suicide rates during or up to six weeks from the end of pregnancy tripled in 2020, compared to 2017 to 2019.

There are thought to be just four perinatal mental health services in the country which offer support to partners – in Leeds, Cornwall, Nottingham and Southampton.

In Leeds – the first NHS trust to introduce a service for fathers – partners of women who are under the perinatal mental health team are able to access support including a monthly Zoom general knowledge quiz.

The quiz is designed to encourage fathers to bond so they ultimately end up sharing their experiences.

Peer support worker Errol Murray said: ‘It’s a bit of fun but it helps them feel distracted from whatever is happening at home and helps to lighten the load.

‘It’s a way of getting men to bond and feel confident talking with other people. Unless you have got that, no one is going to share how they’re feeling.’

The service also offers face-to-face group sessions – which offer more in-depth discussions of issues like how to bond with babies – and monthly ‘dad and kids’ park walks.

Fathers are also able to attend baby sensory classes within NHS premises, which are specifically aimed at encouraging fathers to bond with their babies.

‘By supporting partners we are able to help mums in their recovery [from perinatal mental health conditions],’ Murray added.

EVIL Anders Breivik is secretly trying to pocket £7million by selling the rights to turn his life into a film, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.

Ten years on from his chilling island massacre — which left  77 dead — the vile killer has sent 20 letters to film-makers begging them to tell his story.

A Sun on Sunday probe has found the 42-year-old Norwegian mass- murderer, who writes 50 pages a  day in his prison diary, has already penned a biography and film script and has sent out invites to be interviewed in prison.

A source said: “ Breivik ’s bid for fame, money and freedom is an insult to his victims and their families .

“So too is the prison life he lives. Breivik lives a life of Riley in prison. He’s never said sorry for his wicked crimes and he has no plans to.

“He still wants to inspire others and he still believes in a fascist revolution. His plans to make money from the murders is an utter insult to his victims and their families.”

Today we can also reveal how Breivik, jailed for 21 years, is making a new bid for parole and is convinced he will one day walk free.

And despite enjoying a cushy life inside a three-bedroom “apartment” — furnished with a study, gym and kitchen area — in Skien prison, he has submitted a  list of whingeing complaints to jail bosses.

He wants a better deep-cleaning moisturiser and says too many of his meals are cooked in microwaves.

‘He feels no shame about what he did’

He is also asking for luxury pens to write with, as the biros he has been given cause him hand cramp.

Biographer Asne Seierstad, who has written a book about Breivik, said: “He’s never shown remorse. What he wants is a stage, a place to share his thoughts and his message. And to gain more supporters.”

On his prison life, she added: “He said that in prison he has never been happier.

“I’ve got to know him a little bit and he manipulates situations a lot. He gets his way in the end.

“He talks about plastic cutlery as a torture-like existence or about cold coffee or about waiting 20 minutes before he is let out. He talks about these things like they are bad room service at a hotel.”

Breivik became one of the world’s most notorious killers on July 22, 2011, after carrying out two lone wolf attacks .

In the first, he bombed the Norwegian government quarter in Oslo. This turned out to be just a distraction as,  dressed as a policeman, he then travelled to the Norwegian Labour Party’s summer camp on nearby Utoya Island and carried out a sickening massacre.

The majority of his 77 victims were teenagers — his youngest victims were aged just 14.

Before the incidents, Breivik,  who idolised Adolf Hitler, wrote a 1,500-page manifesto under the pseudonym Andrew Berwick.

In it, he blamed feminism for the “cultural suicide of Europe”, opposed Islam and called for the mass deportation of Muslims from Europe.

He was later given the longest sentence the Norwegian courts can hand out. Recently, the courts said it could be extended if he is still considered a danger to society.

Breivik has so far posted nearly two dozen letters explaining how he wants to sell book, film and interview rights.

One of the recipients was Christoph Andersson, a specialist on right-wing extremism.

Andersson said that in his letter, Breivik had valued the material at $10million (£7million). A source added: “Breivik feels no shame about what he did. In fact, he  revels in it.”

Meanwhile, his lawyer told how Breivik is appealing his sentence.

He said the killer planned to try for parole after serving the first ten years of his term.

The lawyer said: “This is a right that all prisoners have and one that he wants to use.”

Yet  Breivik’s own father thinks he should never be freed.

Jens Breivik said: “I don’t feel like his father. How could he just stand there and kill so many innocent people and seem to think that what he did was OK? He should have taken his own life, too.”

Breivik, who has changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, is being held in  a three-room “cell” — one for sleeping, one for studying and one for exercising.

Each area is 86ft square and he has access to a private gym, a laptop and desk. His cell comes with video games, a DVD player and outside space. He also has access to books and newspapers.

But in a 27-page letter bemoaning his prison life, he whined how he would like more butter, more comfortable handcuffs and a  better view.

He groaned about the “800” strip searches he had undergone and said he would enjoy more social interaction, claiming his treatment was “inhuman”. He also complained about not having internet access. In 2017 he said five years of prison isolation had further radicalised him.

A source said: “Breivik might be one of the world’s most notorious killers but he lives like a king.

“Guards are waiting on him hand and foot and he generally gets whatever he asks for because the prison is so fed up with how much he moans.”

In most countries, including here in the UK, criminals are forbidden from profiting from their crimes after conviction.

‘He has every chance  of selling the rights’

Yet Breivik believes Norway’s liberalism, openness and availability of information means he has every chance of selling the rights to his life story.

He was further boosted when one of the country’s most senior politicians recently said many of Breivik’s far-right views were important to listen to.

Hans Jorgen Lysglimt Johansen, leader of the Alliance Alternative Party in Norway, said: “Much of what Breivik said in his manifesto was correct.

“We have not had a proper debate about that, we have not had a proper settlement with it.”

Norwegian prison officials declined to comment.

SURVIVORS RECALL THEIR FIGHT TO LIVE

KAMZY GUNARATNAM was 23 when Breivik trawled Norway’s Utoya Island preying on her friends.

She saw Breivik shoot one of them in the head .  Kamzy, now 33,  escaped by swimming across the Tyrifjorden Lake, with bullets striking the water around her as the gunman took aim.

After the tragedy Kamzy suffered depression, but seeing a picture of Breivik one day inspired her to start a political career. She is now the deputy mayor of Oslo and has met VIPs including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

In her autobiography Your Struggle Is My Struggle, Kamzy told about a tightly written  22-page letter she received from Breivik in January 2020.

In an open ­letter back to the killer, she told him: “When I read your name, I got chills down my spine. My body went into panic mode for a moment. After what you did on July 22, 2011, I struggled mentally for a long time. I slept badly, sounds sounded like shots, and I could not go into a place without looking for the emergency exits.

“Your actions have caused me lasting damage.  I spent many years putting down my ­paranoia. Your letter aroused fear again.”

Sisters Lara and Bano Rashid were ­having an enjoyable break before Breivik came to the island.  When he fired into their tent,  Lara, then 16, heard the bullets whistle through the canvas.

After the 40-minute rampage, she went to look for her 18-year-old sister and found her dead — cuddled up by a dead friend.

Lara, 26, who works at the Iraqi Embassy in Oslo, says she thinks of her sister every day. She added: “Radical Muslims are not the only terrorists. There’s also a danger from right-wing extremism.”

Adrian Pracon watched his friends get killed by Breivik, and he later lay on their ­bodies and played dead to survive.

He thought he was safe when Breivik walked past.  But the killer came back, pointed the gun to his head and fired.

Incredibly, he survived. Adrian now leads an annual trip back to the island,  gives speeches and has written books.

Speaking about his first visit back, he said: “I needed to cry.   It will be good  for me to do this process of trying to  proceed with my life and realise that this has ­happened.”

A mum with ‘months to live’ has began planning her own funeral to take the pressure off her husband and children when she’s gone. Tiffany Ryan was suddenly diagnosed with stage-2 breast cancer in April last year, after a visit to the doctors about an itch on her collar bone turned out to be much more serious.

Following a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Tiffany hoped that she was cured of the disease, but in January, medics broke the news that the cancer had spread . The 37-year-old was given a life expectancy of three months and had beaten the odds, but sadly it is incurable.

Tiffany, from Clapham, West Sussex, says she doesn’t want to burden her doting husband Matt, 39, with having to plan the details of her funeral when she passes.

She’s now selected a funeral director, as well as her own coffin – wrapped in a daffodil-themed vinyl rather than having a “boring brown coffin.”

But finding enough money to pay for everything, as well as to cover the mortgage and bills, is proving to be a challenge.

“Funerals are also expensive. The average funeral costs about £5,000 – so doing that along with everyday expenses and the mortgage is really difficult,” she said.

Speaking about her send-off, Tiffany, who works as a permanent carer for her autistic eight-year-old son, continued: “I’ve decided on a female funeral director, who I feel really comfortable with.

“I want my funeral to be a positive event. I’m not particularly religious, but my children love to go to our local church – so I don’t want the event to be there.

“Instead I’m going to have a ‘green funeral’ in an outdoors woodland area. My children shouldn’t have to see me be cremated at the church they love.

“I want them to feel comfortable there and safe when I’m gone – not to have it constantly remind them of my death.

“All of this is really hard on my husband too, he wants to take things just one week at a time, sorting out issues like power of attorney and wills.

“I don’t want him to have to deal with that later though, but it is very strange planning my own funeral while some mums I know on the school run are still having children.

Doctors say that Tiffany may have just months to live, leaving her preparing ‘memory capsules’ with video messages and letters to her young children – who are just three and eight.

She was even told by medics in January that she may not live to see her daughter’s fourth birthday – which is next week.

In spite of her condition, Tiffany says that she feels “totally normal” and is not in pain at all.

“I think the strangest part is that I do not feel sick, but I know that I only have so much time,” she said.

“I’m not in pain, I’m still doing the normal school run and going to hospital while my children are in school.

“Doctors have told me that it’s inoperable now. The one thing they could do was give me a tablet to slow it down – but that’s it.

“I think at first I just went into a state of denial. I asked for a second opinion, drug trials – anything that would prolong it. There was a lot of anger, sadness, depression and anxiety.

“I didn’t know whether to tell people, I just sat at home and let it sink in for a while.

“I’m now having to compress all of these Christmases, birthdays and other special occasions into a very short amount of time.

“It’s horrible knowing that my children might not even remember my voice, so I’m planning on making recordings of myself as well as leaving them birthday gifts and notes.”

Tiffany and her husband Matt, who works as an IT engineer, have started trying to build memories together – booking time away from home as a family while her children do not know about her condition.

Supported by charities Depha UK and Disability Expo, the family intends to go away to stay in a log cabin at the end of March, followed by a ‘glamping’ holiday later this year.

Tiffany added: “It’s hard to arrange spending time away together, booking holidays abroad is especially complicated because I would need to be near hospitals .

“If something happened I could become stuck abroad – so we’re only booking holidays in the UK for the moment.

“We just want to go somewhere that we can go for a week and pretend to be normal – so that they can remember me.”

If you’d like to donate to Tiffany’s fundraiser, you can visit her page to help make the family some memories .

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