More Canberra families feel pain of suicide as death toll rises

But nothing could ever compare to seeing his smile, she said.

It's been four long years since she's seen it.

Her son, Anthony Bearham, took his own life in January 2015 at Canberra Hospital. He was 25 years old.

In 2017, more parents, grandparents, siblings and friends in the ACT felt the pain of losing a loved one to suicide than at any point in the previous 10 years, according to the most recent data available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

There were 30 more suicides in the ACT in 2017 than in 2016, rising from 28 to 58.

It was an increase of 107 per cent, the largest percentage increase of any state or territory in Australia.

The overall death toll from suicide in Australia rose from 2866 in 2016 to 3128 in 2017, a 9 per cent increase.

The number of deaths by suicide in 2018 won't be released until later this year.

There have been only three years since 2008 in which the ACT has had more than 40 suicide deaths. In 2010 there were 41. In 2015 there were 46. But 2017 has seen the biggest increase since.

Lifeline Canberra chief executive Carrie Leeson said the rise in suicide deaths had coincided with an increase in people using the organisation's services.

"Unfortunately we have far more demand on the crisis support line than we can meet every year," Ms Leeson said.

She said there was no one event or issue that could explain the increase in loss of lives to suicide.

"It's a question we face every year," she said.

"The individual reasons are as unique as the people themselves. We never forget these [numbers] are actually individuals. They are mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters."

Ms Tape may never know the exact reasons for her son's suicide, but she knows he struggled with mental health issues and drug addiction prior to his death.

She holds close her memories of Anthony, his smile, the sound of his laugh and his "daredevil ways".

Anthony was fond of doing flips on his motorbike without a helmet, practically giving his mum a heart attack.

Ms Tape said his death had torn apart her family, with two of her children now living in Melbourne, in part she thinks to get away from the memories.

"I go through a lot of depression," she said. "I have a lot of nightmares still, I cry a lot."

Anthony Bearham's death is the subject of a coronial inquest.

Lifeline Canberra's director of crisis support, Mandy Larsson, said the largest increase in calls the service received was from people ringing to talk about a loved one they feared for.

In recent months, the Canberra service increased its capacity by 24 per cent to help deal with the increased demand.

"We certainly feel 2018 was a heavy year for us," Ms Larsson said.

"We envisage doing that again this year."

While Ms Larsson described the increase in the number of suicides as distressing, she believed there were also positives to be found in the fact more people were willing to reach out to a service like Lifeline and seek help, either for themselves or for a loved one.

Despite the stark rise in suicide deaths, an ACT Health spokeswoman said the figures did not reflect a crisis.

"The ACT still has the fourth lowest standardised rate of suicide across the country and the ACT’s proportion of suicides matches the proportion of the ACT as a population within Australia," she said.

"With the ACT’s small population numbers there tend to be fluctuations in suicide numbers from year to year."

The spokeswoman added that changes to reporting in coronial cases could be partially responsible for the increase.

Mental Health Minister Shane Rattenbury said each death from suicide was one too many.

He said targets were being put in place to reduce the number of deaths and the ACT government would continue to work closely with mental health and suicide prevention organisations to reduce the number of deaths.

Ms Leeson said while the community looked to governments to implement large-scale projects aimed at reducing the number of deaths due to suicide, every member of the community had a role to play.

"That would be my wish for Canberra, that we educate ourselves to prevent and treat mental health injuries," Ms Leeson said.

"Until we see that, levels will remain the same."

She encouraged everyone to look into mental health first-aid courses.

For anyone with concerns regarding a family member or friend, Ms Tape had a blunt message.

"Get help. Get them assessed. Push for it," she said.

"Don't let it go unnoticed because the next time you blink, it could be too late."

If you or anyone you know requires support, you can get help by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.