Study Shows Season, Time of Day When Suicidal Thoughts Most Likely

MONDAY, May 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- While group mightiness presume termination is much communal successful nan darker months of winter, it really peaks successful outpouring and early summer.

Researchers investigating what’s happening person recovered that suicidal thoughts highest successful December but past return a fewer months to scope a “tipping point.” People are besides astir susceptible to ending their lives betwixt 4 and 5 a.m., according to a caller study.

“It is good documented that wintertime is nan clip erstwhile group pinch intelligence wellness problems whitethorn struggle pinch worsening temper and depression. Indeed, seasonal affective upset is simply a recognized rumor related to nan alteration successful play that affects galore people’s intelligence health,” said study co-author Brian O’Shea. He is an subordinate professor of psychology astatine nan University of Nottingham successful nan United Kingdom.

It whitethorn look astonishing that spring, erstwhile personification mightiness presume people’s moods lift, is really a clip of top risk, he said successful a assemblage news release.

“The reasons for this are complex, but our investigation shows that suicidal thoughts and temper are nan worst successful December and nan champion successful June," O'Shea said.

"Between these 2 points, location is simply a heightened consequence of suicidal behavior, and we consciousness this is occurring because nan gradual improvements successful their temper and power whitethorn alteration them to scheme and prosecute successful a termination attempt,” he explained.

For nan study, much than 10,000 group successful nan United States, Canada and nan United Kingdom completed questionnaires and tasks astir their moods and thoughts astir termination and self-harm complete a six-year period.

The researchers created online tasks to analyse definitive and implicit self-harm thoughts, utilizing nonstop questions astir mood, termination and self-harm. Among nan tasks, participants were asked to benignant words relating to nan aforesaid successful real-time utilizing decease and life words.

Respondents were divided into 3 groups: those who had antecedently attempted suicide; those who had suicidal thoughts aliases non-suicidal self-injury; and those pinch nary erstwhile self-harm, suicidal thoughts aliases behaviors.

Over nan six years, nan investigators recovered a wide summation successful thoughts of self-harm. The play had an effect connected temper and nan desire to die, particularly successful those who had antecedently attempted suicide, nan findings showed.

Explicit suicidal thoughts peaked successful December, while implicit (or unconscious) self-harm associations peaked successful February. Both preceded nan highest of suicidal behaviour successful outpouring and early summer.

“This study is nan first to look astatine temporal trends astir temper and self-harm thoughts connected specified a ample scale, and really pinpoints times erstwhile involution could beryllium astir beneficial,” O’Shea said.

The study findings were published online May 12 successful Translational Psychiatry.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has much connected suicide.

SOURCE: University of Nottingham, news release, May 11, 2023