The highest risk factor for increasing suicide rates in Australia is the high cost of living and the associated financial hardship.

According to some disturbing new data, more than one third of people living in Australia know someone who has either successfully killed themselves or attempted to kill themselves during the past year.

The disturbing study was conducted by Suicide Prevention Australia, and it revealed that 38% of the 1022 persons who were polled had either a direct or indirect connection to suicide over the time period.

Seventy percent of individuals reported feeling elevated levels of despair, and one in five adults reported having suicide thoughts in the previous year.

Additional research conducted by the national apex authority for the prevention of suicide indicated that the most common pressures Australians reported encountering were the cost of living and personal debt, while housing-related misery was the issue that was developing the quickest.

Nieves Murray, the chief executive officer of Suicide Prevention Australia, stated that the newly released data showed that housing stress had increased particularly quickly among Australians of "middle age and middle wage," and that financial issues posed the greatest threat to the nation's mental health and suicide rates.

According to Mr. Murray, "our data highlight once again the clear link between the impact of rising economic and social pressures and distress levels in the society."

According to the findings of several studies, the rate of suicide can reach its highest point two to three years following a major event. It is imperative that we take immediate action to address the rising rates of distress and the potential for an increase in the number of suicides in our community.

Mr. Murray said that 88% of the nation's frontline suicide prevention services had experienced an increase in demand in the previous year.

These worries were shared by a number of prominent support groups in the field of mental health.

According to Dr. Grant Blahki, the main clinical consultant for Beyond Blue, a recent survey of 15,000 Australians carried out by the mental health support organization discovered a similar correlation between deteriorating mental health and financial difficulty.

According to Dr. Blahki, "What We Found Is That Rising Cost of Living Rates And High Interest Rates Were Making People Feel Disconnected From Things And Contributing To Stress."

"Even if people aren't necessarily as aggressively worried about Covid as they were, there's still that sense of fatigue. There has been a string of problems, such as the epidemic, disasters, and concerns about one's financial situation.

Dr. Blahki found that individuals who were experiencing mental health issues were twice as likely to also be experiencing financial stress, but individuals who were experiencing mental health issues were also twice as likely to be experiencing financial stress.

He stated, "That's what I see as a general practitioner; if you've got a lot of money issues and stress, it's not good for your mental health. You know, people can't sleep, and they feel horrible about stuff."