Today I’m specifically talking about male suicide. Let’s start with some statistics from the UK Government website detailing monthly rates of death by suspected suicide in England.
There were 5,324 recorded deaths from suicide between March 2023 and May 2024.
- 74 % were males
- 37% in people aged 25 to 44
- 38.8% in people aged 45 to 64
Let’s break it down and take a look at records for the month of May this year. According to the website, there were 324 recorded deaths to suicide in that one month alone.
- 241 of those were males, 83 were females
- 27 were children and young people, aged 10 to 24
- 125 were aged 24 to 44
- 118 were aged 45 to 64
- 54 were aged 65 and over
That’s 241 families grieving the loss of a son, a brother, a husband or a father. An uncle, a nephew, a cousin. It means hundreds more people lost their friend or work-colleague.
Their buddy, their boyfriend, their school friend.
Ask yourself this: How many people are you connected with in your life?
According to original research and data analysis, the average person knows about 20 people in a very personal manner. Following this statistic, it means at least 6,804 people are currently affected by the 324 reported suicides in England during the month of May alone. For these people, the pain is very much alive. Life will never be the same again.
I’ve been affected by suicide myself, along with many of my friends who’ve lost friends and family members. No matter how much time passes, the emotional impact of someone we know taking their own life remains engrained in our memory. “If only I’d been able to do something to help!”
This is why I’m choosing to share one of the chapters from the book I’ve been talking about over the past couple of days.
BOLLOCKS TO SUICIDE: I’m building a new life with true friends and feeling confident, strong, and certain was written by a man who’s since become a dear friend of mine. At the time, he chose simply to publish his name as Mike R, this is taken from his chapter biography:
“I’ve been a self-employed engineer for twenty years, passionate about motorcycles since birth (I was born into a family of racers!) I’ve raced successfully myself for many years.
I’m sharing my story because although it’s been difficult, I know I’m not alone. On the face of things, I was a happy-go-lucky man. Successful, cheerful, and a good provider – that’s who I’d learned to be. Underneath I was desperately unhappy. Going along as usual and doing my best to please the wishes of others rather than attend to my own. I know now that if people carry on living that way, eventually there will be a big crash. In my case it was very nearly fatal.
Mine had been building for a while. The final crash came once my partner decided I was no use anymore, after draining the life and finances out of me to the point where I nearly lost both my home and my business. I found myself alone in the middle of France, unable to speak the language, with no one to talk to except a couple of friends on the internet and my mother. Then I remembered Mel, who I’d met briefly a few weeks before. I was contemplating contacting her when she messaged me. The rest is in the chapter.”
The book was published five years ago. Since then, Mike has built himself a life that’s filled with energy and determination. He’s found true happiness with a wonderful woman he first dated some decades earlier. Just this week he messaged me to tell me the glorious news that they are getting married later this month!
He also said he’s going to write an update of his journey since then. An update to be shared in public, in order to give hope to other people who feel suicidal. This time, he’ll be including his personal details – and hopefully photographs from the wedding as well!
Of course, I’ll be sharing it here…
Click here for the FREE PDF chapter so you can read Mike’s heartfelt story in full.
Mel Pledger 
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