#WorldMentalHealthDay

10th October is World Mental Health Day, a time to recognise mental health and how it can affect each and every one of us. We all have mental health and it’s important that we talk about it, break down stigmas and let people know that it’s completely okay to not feel okay.

The focus for this year is suicide prevention. In 2018 there were 6,507 deaths by suicide in the UK and suicidal thoughts affect lots of people at different points in their life. The cause of these thoughts are complex. They can be build up over a long time or be completely impulsive. This complexity means that greater understanding is so important.

Our Wellbeing Centres support people who are struggling with their mental health, offering counselling and group therapies. Lots of people who use the service have had experiences of suicidal thoughts or are at risk of this based on their feelings of anxiety and/ or depression.

Paddy from the team sat down with us this week to explain a bit about the things to look out for to spot that someone may be struggling with suicidal thoughts. We wanted to share this wisdom to help us all become more savvy with suicide prevention. We can all be there for someone and show them support to cope with these feelings.

To find out more about our Wellbeing Centres visit : bit.ly/PSSWellbeing

Ian’s story

Ian used our Wellbeing Centres service after experiencing low mood and poor mental health. He’d experienced suicidal thoughts during this time and really wanted some support to feel happier about life and himself.

People cope with mental health challenges in many different ways and a big coping mechanism for Ian has been using art to channel his thoughts and emotions. He still has days where he feels helpless but he now manages this. His mind no longer consumes his life and he is filled with a sense of hope about the future, thanks to his strength and the support he has received. Today, he even offers peer support to other people struggling with their mental health.

Ian wanted to share his story to inspire other people to challenge their own personal obstacles and feel more mentally well. We can’t thank Ian enough for telling us about his past experiences and the massively life-changing journey that he’s been on.

 

#WorldMentalHealthDay

To find out more about our Wellbeing Centres visit: bit.ly/PSSWellbeing.

 

 

At PSS, we offer lots of different services to support people with their mental health. This can take many different forms and can be highly specialised to a unique experience or about mental health in general. We understand that mental health has many different causes and symptoms.

We’re also doing our utmost to ensure that our staff are as happy and mentally healthy as possible. The theme of suicide awareness and prevention has been discussed in great detail within our management training to ensure our teams are equipped with ways to spot suicide risks and respond to these.

And the tool we used is a free tool that can support you too. The zero suicide alliance offer a 20 minute training course on talking to and supporting someone at risk. You can access this here.