Alcohol and suicide

With our partners in the Suicide Prevention Consortium, we conducted a survey of people with relevant lived experience, and interviewed five of them to find out more.

Through this work, and building on the existing evidence base, our report identifies five key themes where improvement is needed to address the barriers preventing more people from accessing the help they need.

1. People’s support pathways vary greatly. The support system needs to be able to provide person-centred care and personalised support, meeting a diverse set of needs and personal circumstances. The support system must meet the needs of the individual, not the other way around.
2. Stigma remains one of the most common barriers to accessing support. People are missing out on potentially life-changing support because of negative perceptions around suicidality, and alcohol issues. They report being made to feel like they should be able to help themself, or that they are not “unwell enough” to deserve support and compassion.
3. Peer support networks and third sector services form a vital part of the support pathway. The impact of hearing from others with similar experiences was extremely profound for many of our participants. We also heard many positive descriptions of third sector services, where people reported feeling empowered to make choices about their care.
4. Crisis support is not consistently meeting the needs of this group. Healthcare professionals at A&E did not always understand the role of alcohol in suicidal thoughts/feelings/acts, and follow up care was described as inconsistent and lacking in genuine care, compassion and interest in a person’s needs
5. The “no wrong door approach” is much needed. Too often, people are still turned away when healthcare professionals perceive them to be under the remit of another part of the system.

To find out more read our full report:

With our partners in the Suicide Prevention Consortium, we interviewed 13 people, who identified with a diverse range of gender identities and sexualities.

We heard that people’s experiences of alcohol, suicide and self-harm are highly personal, with LGBTQ+ identities being just one lens in which some of their experiences can be viewed through. It became clear that social norms, expectations and assumptions had a significant impact on the people we spoke to with this influencing drinking alcohol, suicidality or self-harm for some. We also found that community and connection is important for people’s sense of belonging and was one central mechanism influencing their experiences with drinking alcohol.

• A person-centred approach to care across health systems which acknowledges that people will present with multi-dimensional identities and experiences. This should include the adoption of ‘no wrong door’ approach to care for people with co-occurring conditions as well as joined up and inclusive care for example through provision of mental health, alcohol treatment services and relevant LGBTQ+ support.
• LGBTQ+ people should not be made to justify their gender identity or sexuality and should instead be met with inclusive and non-judgmental understanding of their experiences of suicidality, self-harm and drinking alcohol within all health settings.

To find out more read our full report.

Our 2022 report explores what the relationship between alcohol and suicide looks like for people living in England, in their own words.

With our partners in the Suicide Prevention Consortium, we shared surveys with people who have lived experience of suicide, to understand more about their relationships with alcohol. We hope that by sharing their insights we can encourage the Westminster Government and healthcare services to make changes that will help people to be better supported.

• There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’. The best support people received acknowledged their personal circumstances and made them feel trusted and listened to. Unfortunately, many people did not receive this level of care.
• For many people, alcohol is part of a bigger picture. They described drinking alcohol as a way of coping with issues involving their mental health, trauma or suicidal thoughts.
• Some people who had attempted suicide were dismissed or judged by healthcare staff due to drinking alcohol.
• There’s a need for further exploration of people’s experiences of alcohol and suicide, so that voices of lived experience are at the centre of policymaking.

1. We want to see further investment in alcohol and mental health services to increase their capacity and expertise.
2. We are calling on the people who are responsible for planning and funding healthcare services to explore how they can work together more closely, so that they can address the person rather than the ‘problem’.
3. We think that staff in all healthcare settings that might come into contact with people who have attempted suicide should receive training which covers the complex role that alcohol can play in suicide attempts, based on evidence from people with lived experience.
4. Further work with people who have lived experience is needed to develop our understanding so that help can come earlier, long before people reach a crisis point.