The most recent figures will tell you that one in four people are affected by mental illness at some point in their life. Therefore, unless you only know two other people, then you know someone who has experienced mental illness at some point in their life.

So it is pretty safe to assume that everyone in the country knows at least three people and therefore we all know someone who has experienced mental illness in their life.

In 2005 there were 2101 suicide deaths.

These are the statistics for the major causes of death in the ages between 15 and 44. These figures came from the Australian Bureau of Statistics cause of death summary, 3303.0 Causes of Death, Australia , 2005.

Ages 15 to 24:

Source: ABS, 2007.

Ages 25 to 34:

Source: ABS, 2007.

Ages 35 to 44:

Source: ABS, 2007.

Combined total for ages 15 to 44:

Source: ABS, 2007.

Suicide is the number 1 cause of death in males between the ages of 15 and 44. More males take their own life than are killed in transport accidents or by cancer.

Suicide is the second biggest cause of death in females between the ages of 15 and 44.

This is the breakdown over the course of the year (These figures are for total suicide deaths in 2005):

2101 people commit suicide per year……

6 people commit suicide every day……

1 person commits suicide every 4 hours……

These are the statistics for deaths caused by transport accidents and deaths caused by suicide in 1997 and between 2001 and 2005.

Source: ABS, 2007.

Rates of Attempted Suicide:

The rates of suicide are alarming, however it is the rate of attempted suicide that is absolutely terrifying.

In the 1997 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 0.3% of men and 0.5% of women (0.4% of the sample overall) reported that they had made a suicide attempt in the previous 12-month period. Based on this data it can be estimated that around 43,000 to 44,000 people make a non-fatal suicide attempt each year in Australia (www.responseability.org).

This is the breakdown over the course of the year:

43 000 people attempt to commit suicide every year……

118 people attempt to commit suicide every day……

5 people attempt to commit suicide every hour…...

In males between 20 to 34 years, 20% of deaths are from suicide. Similarly for females, suicide deaths comprise a much higher proportion of total deaths in younger age groups compared with older age groups. Over the total population in 2005 there were 1638 deaths from transport accidents and 2101 deaths from suicide. In the same year in the age bracket 15-24 there were 114 deaths from cancer and 290 deaths from suicide and the 25-34 bracket there were 250 deaths from cancer and 442 deaths from suicide. It is more prevelant than cancer and transport accidents and yet nobody will talk about it, the reality is that in this country, someone, somewhere, will attempt to commit suicide every 12 minutes and someone will take their own life every 4 hours.

So why is this not spoken about. It is a machine that feeds itself, nobody will talk about it and because nobody will talk about it continues to get worse. If we would just open the lines of communication, feel open to talk and discuss things then we can tackle this problem head on. Instead of sweeping it under the carpet and the pretending it doesn't exist.

This problem not only exists, but it is the number one killer of males between the ages of 15 and 44. The worst part of all this is that the number one killer of males between 15 and 44 is completely preventable, there is a cure, there is a vaccine and there always has been, but we refuse to use it.

These stats are for all suicides and, granted, not every person that commits suicide has a diagnosed mental illness. However, in order for a person to decide that there is nothing, at all, worth living for - to the extent that they take their own life- then their mental health must be severely compromised.

The same premise that applies to the prevention of mental illness also applies to the prevention of suicide. By creating an atmosphere of support, hope and understanding that promotes positive mental health we can tackle these issues in concert. We don't need to spend millions of dollars on research to find a cure or a vaccine, we have the cure and the vaccine, right here in our community. All we have to do is learn how to use it.