ATHENS: It was only a Skype consultation but it was still charged with emotion. The voice of the man on the other computer screen was choked with distress; he often stopped to sob.

He had gone to a Greek island desperate for work. The job had not eventuated and now his partner had left him. He wanted to kill himself.

Greece ... "Before the crisis, there was at least one suicide a day. Since the crisis, we estimate that there are at least two a day" ... psychiatrist Kyriakos Katsadoros. Credit:Getty Images

This is a familiar story to Kyriakos Katsadoros, a psychiatrist who works for Greece's suicide prevention helpline talking to callers from all over the country. The helpline is a barometer of the nation's misery and the pressure reading at the moment is high.

Dr Katsadoros says there are no official figures yet but, since the onset of the Greek financial crisis, ''I believe that there's been a 30 to 40 per cent increase in suicide. That estimate is based on the number of phone calls we receive, the reading of newspaper clips and medical articles.