Suicidal thoughts peak in December between 4 and 5 in the morning

Suicidal thoughts peak in December between 4 and 5 in the morning

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Between four and five in the morning and especially in the month of December. These are the times when suicidal thoughts peak, according to a study published in the journal Nature Translational Psychiatry and conducted by scientists from the University of Nottingham, the University of Amsterdam and Harvard University.

I study

The team, led by Brian O’Shea And René Freichel, collected responses to questionnaires completed by over 10,000 people in the UK, US and Canada. Volunteers reported information about their mood, suicidal and self-harm thoughts. Generally, the authors note, suicide rates tend to be thought to occur during the winter, but in reality the peak of self-harm behavior occurs between spring and early summer. The researchers found that the number of suicidal thoughts actually peaks in December, but in practice it takes months for the individual to pass the tipping point. Furthermore, according to what emerges from the survey, between 4:00 and 6:00 in the morning people are more likely to take their own lives.

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“We know that winter is when people with mental health problems can experience a worsening of their conditions – observes O’Shea – the change of season affects many people, so it may be surprising that the suicide rate actually peaks in spring. The reasons for this are quite complex, but our work shows that suicidal thoughts and mood occur most frequently and intensely in December, and then improve towards June.”

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Gloomy thoughts in December

In the time frame between December and June, a higher risk of suicidal behavior persists. Respondents in the sample were divided into three groups: those who had previously attempted suicide, those who showed signs of suicidal ideation and/or self-harm, and those who had never shown any previous suicidal or self-harming thoughts or behaviors. The research team found a significant overall deterioration in mental health conditions in December, especially in the subset of people who had previously attempted suicide.

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The findings show a latency between the peak of suicidal cognition in the winter and the peak of suicide attempts and deaths in the spring. “Our work – concludes O’Shea – examines temporal trends related to mood and self-harming thoughts on a very large scale and could be useful in defining when it is most effective to implement intervention strategies”.

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