Suicide and the internet

Created: 2008-04-11 11:51:21

Today Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, commented on research which shows that people searching the internet for information on suicide are more likely to find sites encouraging the act than offering support (published in the British Medical Journal):

“SANE remains deeply concerned about the possible influence of the internet on suicide rates, not least the ease with which information about particular methods can be found with a simple web search, as this latest study shows.

“We also believe that some websites may further encourage the depressed and vulnerable to attempt suicide through chat rooms and forums, which create virtual communities that can reinforce self-destructive beliefs without encouraging people to seek help.

“The nature of the internet makes it extremely difficult to enforce a ban on pro-suicide websites, but we believe more research is urgently needed to understand why so many are driven to these sites, rather than to content that provides support and advocates prevention.”

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Notes for Editors:

To donate to SANE, or for more information on the work we do, please visit our new website at www.sane.org.uk.

Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, SANE is a leading national mental health charity with the three aims of:

· Raising awareness and respect for people with mental illness and their families and securing better services

· Undertaking research into the causes of serious mental illness through The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research

· Providing help and information to those experiencing mental health problems, their families and carers through SANEline and SANEmail.

SANEline is a national out-of-hours telephone helpline offering emotional support and information for people affected by mental health problems. It is open from 6pm to 11pm every day of the year on 0845 767 8000. SANEmail, SANE’s new email support service, runs alongside our national helpline to provide an additional channel of support to those affected by mental health issues. It can be contacted at sanemail@sane.org.uk.