Insight: July 29

An important subject this week on Insight, as Jenny Brockie asks why male suicide rates are so high in Australia.

Preston Campbell was on the top of his game as a popular young rugby league player for the Cronulla Sharks.

But he had a secret. He was suffering severe depression which eventually led to a suicide attempt.

Preston came back from the brink. But many men don’t.

At least five men kill themselves each day in Australia. 80 per cent of all suicides are men, and experts say the statistics may well get worse.

This week, a policeman, a cardiologist and a footy star join a room of men to discuss why suicide rates are so high – and how some of them made it back from the brink.

Guests include:

Preston Campbell
At the end of 2001 Preston was one of the top football players in the NRL. But a little over a year later he was in hospital after attempting to end his own life. He’d spiralled downwards after separating from his partner and being dropped to reserve grade for poor performance. Preston says one key person helped him turn his life around just in time.

Geoff Toogood
As a cardiologist, Dr Geoff Toogood had spent decades saving other people’s lives. But he was in danger of losing his own. After a build-up of workplace stress, family and financial problems, Geoff says he was worried that he was going to make a spontaneous, fatal decision he would regret. “I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to escape the pain”, he says.

Lindsay Campbell
It was a simple knock on the door that probably saved Lindsay’s life. Lindsay and his wife had moved to a new home in a new town, away from his farm and his mates, to give his wife the retirement he’d always promised her. But after his wife died, Lindsay felt alone. Just as he was considering taking his life, a neighbour tapped on the door. Lindsay says staying connected with other old men now keeps his spirits up.

Rory O’Connor
Rory O’Connor is a professor of psychology who is trying to figure out an important puzzle. “How do we differentiate between the small number of people with mental health problems who kill themselves and the vast majority of people who don’t,” he asks. “We know that about 5 per cent of people with depression will take their own lives but 95 per cent don’t.”

Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.