Garfield the cat may have had a point about Mondays. A recently released study looking at countries around the world found that the risk of suicide is higher on Mondays compared to other days of the week, and that it always increases on New Year’s Day.
Suicide is a complex phenomenon—it can affect anyone. But there are known factors that can influence people’s risk of having suicidal thoughts and the likelihood of attempting fatal self-harm. Some research has suggested that calendar time may be one such factor, but it has not been clear which days and specific dates may affect suicide. In this new study, published on Wednesday The BMJA large team of researchers looked extensively at the relevant data.
Scientists analyzed data on suicides in 740 cities and other places in 26 countries between 1971 and 2019. That is, suicides are more likely to occur on Mondays compared to other days of the work week, with approximately 15% to 18% of suicides occurring on those days. And in every country studied, the odds of suicide rose every New Year’s Day. The risk of suicide over the weekend and other major national holidays such as Christmas varied greatly, however, with a high risk in some countries and a low risk in others.
“Our findings provide strong evidence of temporal variation in suicidality, considering possible connections between regions at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors and the temporal psychological variability found in changing locations before, during, and after holidays and weekends,” the researchers wrote. .
The findings are based on observational data, which alone cannot prove a cause-and-effect link between suicide risk and any factor, including the calendar. But this isn’t the first study to suggest that Mondays in particular can have a negative impact on people’s suicidal tendencies. Some research has suggested that this may be due to something known as the “broken promise effect,” where people will consider postponing their suicide in anticipation of a vacation or weekend, only to experience deep disappointment when the time off arrives again. it doesn’t provide as much boost as expected. The start of the work week itself can also be very stressful for suicidal people who are already stressed about their work, or the start of their next week’s life cycle. As for the New Year, researchers argue that the large amount of alcohol consumption common to this celebration is probably one of the important factors.
The researchers hope their work can better inform suicide prevention efforts. If the risk of suicide really increases everywhere around New Year’s, for example, it may be more important to show public service announcements to advertise support services for people experiencing hallucinations before then.
“Our results provide epidemiological evidence to establish effective suicide prevention programs and administrative support to improve the mental health of workers and younger generations (eg, pre-screening, and psychological support programs), which may be very important in reducing suicide incidents. related to weekdays and holidays,” they wrote.
If you or someone you know is struggling or thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text HOME to 741-741 to contact a Crisis Text Line volunteer.
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