To match Feature GREECE-ELECTION/SUICIDE
Nikiforos Angelopoulos, a professor of psychiatry, is seen in his office in Athens April 25, 2012. In a country that has had one of the lowest suicide rates in the world, a surge in the number of suicides in the wake of an economic crisis has shocked and gripped the Mediterranean nation - and its media - before a May 6 election. Experts say the numbers are relatively low - less than about 600 per year. But increases in suicides, attempted suicides, the use of anti-depressant medication and the need for psychiatric care are causing alarm in a nation unaccustomed to the problems. Angelopoulos, who has a busy psychotherapy practice in an upmarket Athens neighbourhood, said the crisis has exacerbated the problems for some already less stable people and estimates that about five percent of his patients have developed problems due to the crisis. Picture taken April 25, 2012. To match Feature GREECE-ELECTION/SUICIDE REUTERS/Erik Kirschbaum (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH BUSINESS)