Suicide risk may be higher on New Year’s Day and Mondays, study finds

Editor’s Note: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. “Other national holidays, aside from New Year’s Day and Christmas, were generally linked to a lower risk of suicide,” said Kim, an associate professor of global environmental health at the University of Tokyo, but that wasn’t the case for Central and South American countries. Any increases on New Year’s Day and Mondays may also be due to the “broken-promise effect theory,” the authors wrote, which posits that people may postpone suicide attempts until after the holidays, then “be prone to suicidal reactions when they encounter a sense of hopelessness from a new cycle.” However, the study has several shortcomings and caveats, limiting how universal or practical the conclusions are, some experts said. Knowing these details about New Year’s Day and Mondays may be more helpful for public health officials — especially those working helplines — than for individuals in need of care or those wanting to help them, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and author of “You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health — With Advice From Experts and Wisdom From Real People and Families.” Duckworth wasn’t involved in the research. … It’s really about learning suicide risk factors, warning signs and finding out … how they’re doing and if there are any changes in their thoughts and feelings around the holidays.” Some of those risk factors and signs include the following: Comments about wanting to die — by suicide or otherwise — or lacking reasons to live Extreme mood swings Substance abuse Mental disorders such as depression or anxiety, schizophrenia, and personality disorders, especially when untreated Familial or personal history of suicide Job or financial loss Relationship problems or loss Loss of interest in activities or school Prolonged stress from other causes Easy access to potentially fatal means Insufficient social support or sense of isolation However, not every person considering suicide exhibits these signs.