BY ANY measure, the latest release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on cause of death indicates we have a national crisis on our hands and it is getting worse.
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The data for 2015 indicated that 3027 people died by suicide, the first time the numbers have reached more than 3000 and the worst in 10 years.
It equals eight people per day across Australia.
How this specifically relates to Bendigo the figures do not reveal, but we know anecdotally just how many families these terrible statistics contain.
Research indicates that while people living in rural and regional centres are not at greater risk of mental illness, treatment options can be less readily accessed.
Suicide may be just under 2 per cent of deaths, but this figure becomes alarming when looked at in certain subgroups.
In 2015, suicide accounted for one-third of deaths among people aged from 15 to 24 years of age, and over a quarter of deaths among those 25 to 34 years of age.
These figures may be distorted by fewer deaths in a young and relatively healthy age group, but given every one of these cases is a life of potential cut short, we begin to sense the magnitude of the issue.
There is the more worrying possibility that these figures are actually under-representative due to many inconclusive and problematic cases; family taboos, unclear intentions and the troubling spectrum of mental health issues.
Not for the first time has it been observed a death toll this high would be called a national crisis if it could be attributed to a particular disease or something high on the public agenda, like road safety.
Everyone can have a role in curbing this terrible drain on human potential.
Leaders must place a higher imperative on the need for better resourced mental health services and prevention support.
But education resources and even the most basic human level of conversation with the vulnerable are all key in halting the downward spiral.
The statistics are simply a starting point. Any family that knows just one of these cases will know the tragedy and waste.
What the Bendigo Advertiser maintains is this is an old taboo we can no longer afford not to talk about.
***If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.