Of all the problems associated with bipolar suicide is one of the most heartbreaking.

The annual suicide figures paint a very bleak picture. An outcome of suicide in males is 5 times more likely than females and suicide is a leading cause of death among young adults. With the incidence of bipolar disorder now on a par with that of diabetes there are millions of people worldwide struggling with bipolar so negative outcomes are likely to affect many individuals and families. Sometimes patients are trying to cope with other conditions also  like bipolar disorder and MS.

The incidence of suicide amongst bipolar individuals seems to be higher than that of the normal population and within the affective disorders the suicide rate is less with bipolar than unipolar people. With unipolar the depressive episodes generally last much longer so the risk of suicide is greater.

Individuals on long term management programs are at less risk than those who are not. This is partly because bipolar disorder tends to be recurring and the duration between episodes tends to decrease leading to more time spent in the depressive state with the increased suicide risk.

Another contributory factor seems to be what activity the individual is engaged in at the time. Army service away from home understandably worsens the situation when the individual is under increased stress and removed from their familiar support group.