Samaritans is enouraging men to ask for help

In light of the figures, the charity is appealing for men to contact them when they are struggling to cope.

The charity, which has an office locally at Lodge Road in Coleraine, released the figures to mark Men’s Health Week.

Samaritans’ research, ‘Men, Suicide and Society’ shows that men tend to compare themselves to a masculine “gold standard”.

This standard puts pressure on men to be powerful, successful and in control. This contributes to the higher rate of suicide among men and can be a major barrier to men seeking help.

Figures from Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (2013) show that 303 suicides were recorded in Northern Ireland – just over three quarters of those who died were male (229).

Catherine Brogan, Samaritans Ireland, said: “It’s time to challenge the view that being a man means not talking about what’s wrong or asking for help.” You can contact them on Please call 08457 90 90 90, or you can email [email protected].