Long working hours, pressures at home and an inability to express their feelings mean more young men are contemplating suicide than ever before in Oxfordshire.

Two-thirds of the county's population are thought to be suffering from mental health problems - with 30,000 people diagnosed as depressed and 27,000 addicted to alcohol or drugs.

Increasing numbers of students are suffering from eating disorders and there are more homeless people wandering Oxford.

People living in small rural areas are particularly at risk, with disproportionately high suicide rates among farmers and their spouses, forestry workers and vets. Mental health has been moved to the top of the list by Oxfordshire Health Authority, after it was flagged as an area of real concern among the county's population.

Tim Allingham, director of the Oxford Samaritans, said they have received 29,389 calls so far this year, among them 3,255 suicide calls - that is one every two hours.

He said: "The calls have been going up each year and young men are now one of the highest risk groups for people committing suicide. There are various different reasons, including not being able to talk about their feelings or not being in social situations enabling them to do so. "There is a lot of pressure on them trying to get work, and pressure at school and university to complete their course. The pressure to live and survive today places a lot of pressure on families and relationships.

"Hopefully more men are able to talk about their feelings so they do not have to be the 'strong silent type'. Showing your feelings is no longer a sign of weakness, but if the only place that men may meet is in the pub it is very difficult for them to talk about something that means a lot to them, because it is a superficial atmosphere.

"Women, perhaps, have more of a support network of friends, with friends they tend to open up to." Mr Allingham added: "The important thing is that we try not to be judgemental when people call us. We do not tell them what it is they should do - we are a sounding board, but we are not trying to take ownership of people's lives.

"We would steer people into the distress and into the emotions, and get them to a point where they do not feel stupid for saying their feelings."

Dr Sian Griffiths, director of public health at Oxfordshire Health Authority, identified social deprivation as one of the major factors in depression and other mental health problems.

She pointed out parts of Oxford, the area north-west of Banbury, between Chipping Norton and Charlbury, around Faringdon, between Abingdon and Didcot, and around Bicester as hot spots. Dr Griffiths said: "Mental health problems are common. They cause substantial distress, take up a high proportion of GPs time and have a high cost to society. A recent study estimated that 80 million working days are lost each year due to mental illness, at a cost of around £3.7bn."

In Oxfordshire, less than one per cent of the population has a severe and long-lasting mental illness, such as schizophrenia, but many more suffer episodes of mental illness at some time in their lives.

Dr Griffiths added: "Up to half of all women and quarter of all men will be affected by depression before they reach the age of 70.

"Depression is an important cause of illness in the population of Oxfordshire, and a major risk factor in suicide."

Story date: Friday 05 November

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