These Are the Days When Suicide Risk Is Highest, Global Study Finds

Garfield the cat may have had a point about Mondays. Newly released research looking at countries across the globe has found that suicide risk is highest on Mondays compared to other weekdays, and that it always seems to increase on New Year’s Day.

Suicide is a complex phenomenon—one that can potentially affect anyone. But there are known factors that can influence people’s risk of having suicidal ideation as well as the likelihood of attempting deadly self-harm. Some research has suggested that the timing of the calendar can be one such factor, but it’s been less clear as to which specific days and dates could affect suicidality. In this new study, published Wednesday in The BMJ, a large team of researchers has taken an extensive look at the relevant data.

The scientists analyzed suicide mortality data from 740 cities and other locations across 26 countries between the years 1971 to 2019. While there were many regional differences in the rate and timing of suicides, they did find some broadly consistent trends. Namely, suicides were most likely to happen on Monday compared to other days of the work week, with about 15% to 18% of suicides occurring on those days. And across all the studied countries, the likelihood of suicide always increased on New Year’s Day. The risk of suicide on the weekend and during other major national holidays like Christmas was more varied, however, with a higher risk in some countries and a lower risk in others.

“Our findings provide empirical evidence of the temporal variations in suicide, considering possible interactions between underlying vulnerable states with suicidal thoughts and behaviors as well as short term psychological fluctuations derived from changing environments before, during, and after holidays and weekends,” the researchers wrote.

The findings are based on observational data, which alone cannot prove a cause-and-effect link between suicide risk and any factor, the calendar included. But this isn’t the first study to suggest that Mondays in particular can gravely affect people’s suicidal tendencies. Some research has suggested that this might be due to a phenomenon known as the “broken-promise effect,” in which people will consider delaying their suicide in anticipation of a holiday or the weekend, only to feel substantial disappointment once the time off arrives and doesn’t provide as much of a boost as expected. The beginning of the workweek itself might also weigh more heavily on people at risk of suicide who are already stressed about their job, or the beginning of their next weekly life cycle. As for New Year’s, the researchers argue that the copious amounts of alcohol drinking common to the celebration is likely one key factor.

The researchers hope their work can better inform suicide prevention efforts. If suicide risk really does climb everywhere during New Year’s, for instance, then it might be especially worthwhile to display public service announcements advertising support services to people experiencing ideation in the lead-up to then.

“Our results provide epidemiological evidence to establish more effective action plans for suicide prevention and administrative support for enhancing the mental health of workers and younger generations (eg, pre-emptive screening, and psychological support programs), which might be important for reducing suicide events related to weekdays and holidays,” they wrote.

If you or someone you know is having a crisis or contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a volunteer at the Crisis Text Line.