The standard response, drilled down through university lectures and industry codes of ethics is: it depends.

We're generally warned off reporting individual cases of suicide, and told never to make any mention of method or, in most cases, reason.

There's good cause for this: a critical review conducted for mental health organisation Mindframe in 2010 found a link between media reporting of suicide and increased incidences, particularly among young men.

The upshot is that except in high-profile tragedies or the yearly reel of statistics on World Suicide Prevention Day, we don't touch the subject at all.

But we really should.

Suicide is a hidden killer in Australia.

We're getting better at talking about mental health, about depression and anxiety and even stress, but the more than 2200 lives a year lost to suicide remain faceless in the seventh circle of hell.

Suicide is the most common cause of death for males aged 15 to 44 and is the 10th most common killer of Australian men across all age groups.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010 figures, 77 per cent of people who took their own life were males, most in the 35 to 44 and 75 to 84 age groups.

In women, rates of suicide are highest in the 45 to 54 age group.

Women also have high rates of attempting suicide.

In Tasmania the rate of death is 14.1 per 100,000 compared to 10.6 nationwide. Only the Northern Territory is higher.

It's tempting to try and oversimplify the issue, to cast around for drug addiction, divorce, grief, bullying - anything to blame for the loved one's death. But life is not a Grecian tragedy and suicide rarely follows a clear narrative arc.

Psychologist Dr Michael Carr- Gregg says it's important to talk of being suicidal as a disease, a chemical imbalance that is out of the control of the sufferer or those around them and that can be remedied or at least alleviated.

Something for which there is no fault and therefore there can be no shame. You cannot help it, but you can be helped.

Why, then, is it still treated like a great shame in public discourse?

It is, like any death from disease, a private matter and privacy should be respected.

That's why you'll find no names in this column, no case studies and no personal anecdotes, for although there are many they are not mine to tell.

But we don't need to bash down the door on a grieving family to open dialogue.

A great example of a community discussion on this difficult topic can be found in mainland newspaper The Border Mail, owned like The Examiner by Fairfax Media, which won a Walkley award for its campaign to end the silence on suicide.

Reporter Ashley Argoon was named Walkley's Young Journalist of the Year for the same body of work.

Targeted campaigns like that run by The Mercury against bullying can also help, so long as they become about building resilience not apportioning blame.

By talking openly about suicide hopefully we can encourage just one more person to seek help.

Dr Carr-Gregg says that rather than sparking copycat events, clear and honest discussion within a mental health framework can help people get through.

Albert Camus said of suicide, "An act like this is prepared within the silence of the heart, as is a great work of art."

Some silences are meant to be broken.

•If you need help or counselling contact Samaritans 1300364566, Lifeline 131114, Kids Helpline 1800551800, MensLine Australia 1300789978, or the StandBy Response Service 24-hour number on 0408133884, beyondblue 1300224636.

•If you need information, support or counselling in relation to family violence ring: 1800608122 9am to midnight Monday-Friday or 4pm to midnight, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.