South African men are five times more likely to commit suicide than women because "cowboys don't cry" - they would rather bottle up their troubles. The SA Depression and Anxiety Group revealed ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day today that it is experiencing a daily increase in "serious" suicidal calls from men who are "helpless and hopeless"."The increase is largely due to financial problems, as well as increased rates of separation and divorce," said the group's spokesman, Cassey Chambers.Most of the men who turn to the group for help have already "made a plan to commit suicide. They often have no resources, no support and feel incredibly desperate.""South African men are brought up in a society in which they are taught not to talk about their feelings or emotions."It is believed that if a man talks about his feelings or depression he is weak."So, men don't talk about their feelings until it is too late, until they feel so helpless that suicide is the only option," said Chambers.This is particularly evident in police suicides. According to the SA Police Officers' Memorial website, 387 policemen committed suicide between 2009 and 2013.Jean Steyn, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Applied Human Sciences, said: "International statistics show that police suicide rates tend to be 2.29 times that of the average population."In South Africa, the rate is four times that of the general population."Steyn said post-traumatic stress disorder "is certainly one cause".Durban clinical psychologist Professor Lourens Schlebusch said men presented their depression, stress and burn-out differently from women by "working too hard, drinking, having extramarital affairs and showing aggression instead of weepiness".Cape Town psychologist Diane Mallaby said all suicide threats should be taken seriously."In men specifically, the risk of completion is extremely high as they use more violent measures and are thus four times more likely to succeed on their first attempt than women," said Mallaby...