Changing the narrative: why hidden struggles matter
September 10, 2026 | Making Health Whole, Medical Communications, Suicide Prevention, healthcare innovation, whole health
On Suicide Prevention Day, we’re focusing on something often overlooked: the difference between what’s visible and what’s actually being carried. Many people living with long-term or chronic illness experience challenges that don’t show up in appointments, diagnoses, or treatment plans.
This Suicide Prevention Day, we want to draw attention to something that can get missed: some of the most damaging impacts of chronic illness are frequently hidden, not just to others, but in the conversations people have with their healthcare teams.
Chronic illness can bring far more than physical symptoms. It can affect identity, day-to-day functioning, hope for the future, and the strain that accumulates over time. When those “invisible” consequences aren’t acknowledged, support can become fragmented. Treatment often focuses on the body, while the emotional and psychological burden is left to grow out of sight.
The hidden impacts that can increase risk
Research shows that people with chronic or long-term health conditions can be at increased risk of suicide:
- Studies have found associations between suicide risk and conditions such as back pain, sleep disorders, and traumatic brain injury.
- People with substantial limitations have been found to be over three times more likely to die by suicide than those with no limitations.
- Chronic disease is present in up to 90% of suicide cases.
The takeaway is that physical illness can carry psychological load, and that load can be intensified by isolation, exhaustion, and a feeling of not having the appropriate support.
What makes it invisible?
In many cases, the visible side of chronic illness is easy to spot, but the parts that often remain out of frame include:
- Exhaustion: the cumulative drain of managing a long-term illness day after day
- Financial strain: direct costs, reduced earning capacity, hidden knock-on effects
- Feeling like a burden: to family, friends and colleagues
- Isolation: loneliness and withdrawal due to unpredictable symptoms and feeling like a burden
- Identity change: who someone thought they’d be vs who/what they think the future now holds
These impacts can be ongoing even when someone “looks fine” externally, and that’s why conversation quality matters as much as service availability.
A conversation shift that helps: ask better questions, earlier
Instead of waiting for someone to reach a crisis point, it’s important that we normalise earlier, with more honest check-ins as part of the diagnosis and treatment journey.
A simple approach is to try asking, and then listen:
- What’s happening with you?
- How are you managing, really?
- What do you need right now?
Suicide and suicidal thoughts are not topics of conversation that come to us easily. They can feel difficult and unnatural. But that’s exactly why it’s so important. Don’t be afraid to ask the question and start the conversation if you think someone is struggling; it could be just the opening they need to make the hidden visible and guide someone towards the right support sooner.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact the Samaritans for free at any time, from any phone, on 116 123.
This content was provided by Mednet