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Mature Gay Men and Suicide: Dying for Someone to Talk to
Gay and bisexual men seek mental health care more frequently than heterosexual men but are more likely to have attempted and succeeded at suicide.
Suicide in the United States has surged to its highest level in nearly thirty years. Although this rise was particularly steep for women, it increased substantially for all middle-aged Americans, a group whose suicide rate has been stable or falling since the 1950s.
The majority of gay/bi men maintain good mental health, but compared to other men they are at greater risk for mental health problems. One group of researchers found that 12% of urban gay and bisexual men have attempted suicide, a rate three times higher than the overall rate for American men. Almost half reported multiple attempts.
One common theme underlies most successful suicides: a sense of hopelessness.
Some psychiatrists have described predicament suicide, in the absence of a diagnosable mental condition, they face circumstances from which they cannot find an acceptable escape such as financial loss or forced marriages. A decision to come out in midlife might represent such a predicament; older men may feel they are sacrificing everything they once valued and…
