If You Need to Talk to Someone Now
- Samaritans: call 116 123, free, 24 hours a day, every day
- Shout: text SHOUT to 85258, free, 24/7
- CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably): call 0800 58 58 58, 5pm to midnight, every day
- NHS 111, option 2: urgent mental health support, day or night, in England
- If a life is at immediate risk, call 999 or go to A&E.
Every November, Movember puts men’s health on the agenda. For the executive audience this site serves, one figure deserves particular attention: in England and Wales, the highest suicide rate of any group is among men aged 50 to 54.[1] These are often men at the peak of their careers, carrying significant responsibility, and they are the least likely to say they are struggling.
This guide combines the latest data with practical advice from psychotherapist Noel McDermott on protecting your own mental health and supporting the men around you.
Executive Brief
- The risk is concentrated in midlife. Men’s suicide rate is around three times women’s, and highest between 50 and 54.
- Feeling low after a setback is normal. Resilience comes from processing it with the people around you, not from hiding it.
- Suicidal feelings can pass, and the conditions behind them are treatable. Asking someone directly how they are doing can open the door to help.
Men and Suicide: The Picture Today
In 2025, 6,162 suicides were registered in England and Wales, a rate of 11.3 per 100,000 people. The rate among men was 17.5 per 100,000, around three times the rate among women (5.5 per 100,000). Rates have generally been rising since 2017, and men aged 50 to 54 had the highest rate of any age group, at 28.0 per 100,000.[1]
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 727,000 people died by suicide in 2021.[2] Behind every one of those figures is a family, a team and a community.
The most important message is that suicide is preventable. Suicidal thoughts are usually temporary, and the conditions that drive them can be treated.
Why High Performers Are Not Immune
Success can mask risk. Many of the traits that drive a career can also make it harder to ask for help:
- Identity tied to role: when work is the main source of self-worth, a restructure, redundancy or lost deal can feel like a personal failure.
- The expectation of control: leaders are often expected to be the steady hand, which makes admitting difficulty feel like weakness.
- Fewer people to confide in: seniority can narrow the circle of peers you can speak to openly.
- Eroded buffers: long hours crowd out the friendships, exercise and sleep that protect mental health, while alcohol is often built into client entertaining.
Treat your mental health as you would any critical asset: monitor it, maintain it and act early when the warning signs appear. Our stress protocols are a good place to start.
Expert Advice: Three Principles From Noel McDermott
Psychotherapist Noel McDermott shares three principles for protecting men’s mental health.
1. Life Insurance of a Different Kind
Not a financial payout, but a reasonable chance of a decent life. The formula is simple: normalisation + resilience = you’ll be fine.
Normalisation means accepting that you are not broken or deficient if you feel terrible when life is difficult or bad things happen. There is an unhelpful narrative that men shouldn’t feel bad in the normal way, or process those feelings as we are designed to as social animals. Resilience is doing exactly that: getting support from the people around you.
Take losing your job. First, you will feel awful, perhaps like a failure or a burden (normalisation). Second, you talk to people who care about you, who take you out of yourself and remind you that you are not alone (resilience). Third, you will be fine.
2. Fit Check
Are you fit for life? Would you pass your MOT? Many of the illnesses we treat are lifestyle-related, and the most important change you can make is to be physically active.
The benefits are well measured: better quality of life, lower mortality, stronger social networks, greater wellbeing, and a better ability to manage anxiety and depression. The UK guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week.[3]
3. When You’re in a Hole, Stop Digging
To stop digging, you first need to know you are in a hole. Many mental health conditions involve a lack of insight: people don’t recognise that they are depressed; what they “know” is “I’m a failure” or “I can’t go on”. They experience themselves as their symptoms, which is very different from breaking an arm or catching a cold.
- Learn the signs of psychological distress. They are much the same for all of us.
- Build a resilience network of informed people who aren’t afraid to tell you if you seem not yourself.
- Have an action plan for times when you or someone close to you isn’t coping.
- Ask for help early. Speak to your GP, lean on your network and step up your health and wellbeing habits. In England, you can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP.
“Of course there are more things and refinements you can add but essentially start today, add a new behaviour, make that a habit then add another new behaviour. Don’t remove but add replacements.”
Noel McDermott
How to Support a Man Who Is Struggling
- Take it seriously, but don’t let fear stop you talking. A calm, sympathetic conversation can make a real difference to someone in distress.
- Ask directly. Asking someone whether they are having thoughts of suicide does not put the idea in their head. It gives them permission to talk.
- Listen without judgement. Something that seems small to you may be the last straw for them. You are not inside their head and didn’t experience the hours or days before.
- Remember that suicidal thoughts are usually temporary. Talking can help someone work through them, but always encourage professional support as well.
- Encourage treatment. Suicidal thoughts are often linked to another mental health condition that can be treated, through talking therapy, medication or both.
- Be honest about alcohol and drugs. They can bring short-term relief from anxiety, depression or trauma, but they make the underlying problem worse and can increase risk. Many people find their suicidal thoughts ease when they stop drinking heavily.
- Act on immediate risk. If you believe someone’s life is in danger, call 999 or take them to A&E.
The Zero Suicide Alliance offers free online suicide awareness training, which is a worthwhile investment for anyone who manages people.
Build Your Own Protective Habits
Connection, movement, sleep and recovery are the foundations of mental resilience. Explore the protocols behind them:
About the Expert
Noel McDermott is a psychotherapist and dramatherapist with over 30 years’ experience across health, social care, education and criminal justice. His company, Mental Health Works, provides mental health services for individuals and organisations.
Support is available 24/7. Call Samaritans free on 116 123 or text SHOUT to 85258. This article is for general information and is not a substitute for professional help.
References
- Office for National Statistics. (2026). Suicides in England and Wales: 1981 to 2025. ons.gov.uk
- World Health Organization. (2025). Suicide worldwide in 2021: global health estimates. who.int
- Department of Health and Social Care. (2019). UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines. gov.uk
