Holiday Suicide Surge is Fortunately a Myth

We've all heard about the spike in suicides during the holidays. Fortunately it's a myth. According to a statistical analysis of published studies on the topic, suicides actually go down as much as 40% over the holiday season.

Drug or alcohol overdoses, self-poisoning with gas or other harmful substances and self-inflicted injuries-- with or without the deliberate intention to die -- all decreased from average levels during the week of Dec. 19-26, [Oxford researcher Helen] Bergen and colleagues found, and these lowered levels held through New Year's Day.

The decrease in rates of self-inflicted damage before, on and immediately after Christmas and into the New Year was found regardless of age, family connections or social isolation, the researchers reported in the September issue of the journal Social Science & Medicine.

There are a lot of (untestable) theories for the reasons behind the decreases including cultural rituals that emphasize reaching out and giving. And no one claims that the drop means that people aren't depressed or lonely during this time period. But fortunately the belief that the holiday season is also a season of suicide is a busted myth.