A suicide in the family.

Simon Jack's father took his own life in 1989 at the age of forty-four which inspired him to look further into male suicide. Male suicide is far more prevalent than suicide amongst women; there are almost 5000 male suicides a year, four times more than the rate for females. Suicide remains the biggest killer of men under fifty. Jane Powell from CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) and Stephen habgood from PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide) discuss why they think suicide amongst young men is still such a problem. Jack asks if suicide is primarily caused by mental illness and travels to Glasgow University where he undergoes a series of tests which look at propensities to commit suicide. Joe Ferns from the Samaritans feels strongly that lack of communication is the key factor in suicide, that men still find it hard to discuss their emotions and to admit weakness. A group of men from a Northern rugby league group discuss depression and how difficult it is to talk about their problems; very movingly, ex-professional rugby player, Ian Knott, describes his own suicide attempt following an injury which meant he could no longer play rugby.