World Mental Health Day

Thursday is World Mental Health Day and this year’s focus is suicide and suicide prevention as close to 800,000 people take their own lives every year - that is one person every 40 seconds.

Sadly suicide is the leading cause of death of people aged 20 to 34 in the UK and the leading cause of death in men aged under 50 - clearly we are not talking about this enough!

Although I do not cover suicide prevention in coaching as this is a severe mental health concern and should be treated by a professionals such as psychologists and counsellors, it is an area that I feel incredibly passionate about after suffering from depression. I now work with many clients (1 to 1 coaching and in groups) to improve confidence, self-esteem and build resilience & create stress management tool kits.

What can organisations do to help their employees who may be struggling with emotional well being concerns? World Health Organisation is asking everyone to take 40 seconds (literally less than a minute) to show that they care by:  Improving awareness of suicide as a global health problem

Improving knowledge of what can be done to prevent suicide

Reduce the stigma of suicide

Be there for anyone they know who is struggling - they are not alone.

Take 40 seconds to formulate a positive message of support to your employees about resources available to them in the workplace or local community in times of mental distress.

Do you want your leaders to hear your request for action?

Record a 40-second audio clip or video telling them the action you want them to take on suicide prevention and mental health.

Use your social media platform and share mental health stories and messages.Utilise lines of communication in your workplace - team meetings, emails, communication channels, posters - anything that raises awareness and points your team to where they can get help.

Create a well being programme for your company - contact me today to see how I can help you improve your team's emotional well being and mental health

How can you help? Simply by asking “How are you?” to anyone you know who you think may be struggling - the key is to ask twice as due to the stigma attached to suicide many people suffering refuse to open up - so ask again. If they are still unwilling (and many will be) then suggest they contact an organisation such as: SANE http://www.sane.org.uk or call them on 0300 304 7000

For many people they feel stressed, anxious and depressed and this can spiral for them. I aim to stop them getting to that stage through confidence coaching, impact workshops and self-esteem seminars as help people create ways to help them cope with stress and improve their self-esteem.

Fundamentally, no-one should ever feel that they need to take their own life. I hope with coaching, raising awareness and running resilience and confidence workshops that I can enable and empower people create ways to help them cope with stress and improve their self-esteem.

For more ideas and resources check out Time To Change that aims to end mental health discrimination @TimeToChange: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/get-your-workplace-involved/resources/mental-health-calendar/wmhd 

#worldmentalhealthday #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #emotionalwellbeing