By Cara Murez
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, May 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) — While people might assume that suicide is most common in the darkest winter months, it actually peaks in the spring and early summer.
Researchers looking into what’s going on have found that suicidal thoughts peak in December, but then take a few months to reach a “tipping point.” People are also more vulnerable to ending their lives between 4 and 5 a.m., according to a new study.
“It is well documented that winter is the time when people with mental health problems can struggle with worsening mood and depression. In fact, seasonal affective disorder is a recognized problem related to the change of seasons that affects the mental health of many people,” said study co-author Brian O’Shea. He is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
It may seem surprising that spring, when one might assume people’s moods improve, is actually a time of greatest risk, he said in a university news release.
“The reasons for this are complex, but our research shows that suicidal thoughts and mood are worst in December and best in June,” O’Shea said.
“Between these two points, there is an increased risk of suicidal behavior, and we believe this occurs because gradual improvements in their mood and energy may allow them to plan and participate in a suicide attempt,” he explained.
For the study, more than 10,000 people in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom completed questionnaires and tasks about their moods and thoughts about suicide and self-harm over a six-year period.
The researchers created online tasks to examine explicit and implicit self-harm thoughts, using direct questions about mood, suicide, and self-harm. In between tasks, participants were asked to order words related to themselves in real time using death and life words.
Respondents were divided into three groups: those who had previously attempted suicide; those who had suicidal thoughts or non-suicidal self-harm; and those without prior self-harm, suicidal thoughts or behaviour.
Over the six years, the researchers found an overall increase in thoughts of self-harm. The season had an impact on mood and the desire to die, particularly in those who had previously attempted suicide, the findings showed.
Explicit suicidal thoughts peaked in December, while implicit (or unconscious) self-harm associations peaked in February. Both preceded the peak of suicidal behavior in the spring and early summer.
“This study is the first to look at temporal trends around mood and self-injurious thoughts on such a large scale, and really pinpoints when intervention might be most beneficial,” O’Shea said.
The study findings were published online May 12 in translational psychiatry.
More information
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about suicide.
SOURCE: University of Nottingham, press release, May 11, 2023
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