Today is World Suicide Prevention Day a day that has particular meaning for me; as someone who has been bereaved by suicide I know how far reaching the ripples affect whenever someone dies by suicide.
The statistics are stark - Every 90 minutes someone in the UK or Ireland dies by suicide and 1 in 4 of us has had suicidal thoughts
Today is the kind of day that makes you stop and think, sadly it shouldn't take an actual day in the calendar to give us time to pause and really think but it also gives us some dedicated time.
Suicide is not inevitable .... You can interrupt someone's suicidal thoughts. ..... You could save a life
The Samaritans surveyed people with lived experience of suicide and the majority told them that their suicidal thoughts had been interrrupted:
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60% said that their thoughts had been interrupted by someone close to them, like a friend or family member
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14% said that their thoughts had been interrupted by a stranger or by someone they did not know well.
I know how hard it is to have conversations about suicide and how those conversations can make people feel uncomfortable - but those conversations are necessary. We need to have courageous conversations we need to look out for each other ask the hard questions and offer hope and help.
So today is a day where we can pause, think about our friends, family members and colleagues - are we worried about anyone? Has anyone said that they are struggling recently - if as you are reading this someone pops into your mind - reach out, send a message and offer your time. Make today the day that you reach out. Offer a cup of tea, a chat, a walk, a quick google search will reveal lots of avenues of support.
The hardest part is reaching out and that first step in the conversation but it is so important - lets get better at talking about suicide - mental health does not discriminate - but fear and stigma can be huge barriers. Together we can break down those barriers
As National Safeguarding Manager here in St John Ambulance Cymru - I am available to listen - I have places I can signpost to, there is no judgement. You do not have to be alone ....
Lets prevent suicide today , Because tomorrow is too late.
We spoke in more detail with Kerrie on the topic of mental health, where she shared her insight and wisdom on how to navigate these challenging situations and have the difficult-but-necessary conversations with the people we care about. Listen to our podcast episode with Kerrie to hear more:
Just in Case: Stories from St John is available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with new episodes set to release every month.
Click the links to listen on Apple Podcasts or to listen on Spotify.