A reflection for World Suicide Prevention Day

Shane Warren
Sep 9
3 min read

Two Planes Fall From the Sky Every Day And Yet We Stay Silent: A reflection for World Suicide Prevention Day

Here’s a challenging thought experiment I can’t shake.

It is estimated that around 720,000 people die by suicide every year (WHO, 2023). That’s over 1,970 people every single day.

To put that into perspective: it’s the equivalent of two plus Airbus A380s - the largest passenger aircraft in the world, carrying a full load of 853 people each - crashing every single day.

Now, pause there for a second.

If two fully loaded A380s really were falling from the sky every day, governments would be scrambling. Global summits would be called. Airlines would be grounded. Emergency investigations would dominate headlines until the cause was found, and the crisis resolved.

So why aren’t we treating suicide with the same urgency?

The Hidden Catastrophe

When suicide happens, it rarely makes global news. There are no black boxes recovered, no high-profile inquiries, no daily press conferences with leaders promising change.

Instead, the pain is hidden. It lives in silence, whispered in shame, or shrugged off as “too complex” to fix. And yet, this crisis, just like those comparative planes, keep claiming lives every single day.

Suicide is not an abstract statistic. It is mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, partners, colleagues, friends. Each life cut short is a family devastated, a community left questioning, a future unfulfilled.

Why Aren’t We Acting?

The World Health Organization tells us suicide is preventable. Yes preventable…

Risk factors are well-documented:

Trauma, grief, and abuse.
Mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, or substance use.
Chronic stress, poverty, unemployment, and isolation.
Barriers to accessing effective care and support.

Protective factors are also clear:

Connection.
Early intervention.
Community-based support.
Culturally sensitive mental health services.
Reducing stigma so that people feel safe to reach out for help.

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what works. The problem is that our collective will to act has been too slow, too fragmented, and too underfunded.

The Broad Approach We Need

Ending suicide requires a whole-of-society approach. Not just crisis lines (though they are vital), but:

Health systems that treat mental health as equal to physical health.
Workplaces that prioritise wellbeing, not just productivity.
Schools that teach resilience, compassion, and emotional literacy alongside maths and history.
Governments that recognise the economic, social, and human cost of inaction and fund preventative strategies accordingly.
Communities that wrap around those in pain, replacing shame with empathy, silence with conversation, and stigma with support.

It requires us all.

A Challenge for Us All

On this World Suicide Prevention Day, here’s my challenge to you: The next time you hear the statistic - 720,000 lives a year - don’t let your mind reduce it to a number. Imagine those two planes. Imagine the grief, the chaos, the desperate questions of why?

And then remember this is happening in homes, in schools, in workplaces, in families, every single day.

If we can ground aircraft to save lives, surely, we can ground stigma, shame, and silence too.

Never Give Up. Reach Out.

If you are struggling right now, please hear this: your life matters. The pain you feel is real, but it is not permanent. Solutions, help, and hope are there. You do not have to face it alone.

And if you know someone carrying more than they can hold, reach out. A simple message, a kind word, a moment of connection can be the lifeline they didn’t know they needed.

Because here’s the truth: suicide is preventable. Together, we can build a world where fewer families know this grief. A world where people don’t wait until it’s “too late” to ask for help. A world where, instead of silence, there is solidarity.