A message from my sister
As World Mental Health day was on the
horizon I thought it would be an appropriate time to write a few paragraphs for www.fortycubed.co.uk, to highlight and raise
awareness of mental health and to remind me and the lovely friends and family
who have agreed to do our bit for @fortycubed and raise our £1k for MIND, why
this is so important.
When I made that plan I had no idea how
poignant and relevant this post would be.
So sadly one of my son’s friends took his life on Saturday. Even writing that today, less than 48 hours
after my son told me, seems surreal. He
was 15.
That stark information is so powerful and
fits too neatly into the statistics. We know men are more likely to complete
suicide, we know the rates seem to be on the rise and we know it is often
related to the turmoil that comes with mental ill health. We also know we need to talk more and in the
words of one mental health charity’s post in relation to male suicide – we need
to stop manning up and find the strength to talk.
However, there is often a reluctance within
our society to demonstrate our vulnerability; how many of us have tried not to
wipe our eyes in the dark of the cinema at a film designed to elicit
emotion? How many of us have apologised
for tearing up, asking for a tissue, having to take a moment to compose
ourselves? How many of us have stopped
short of telling someone close to us that we love them? Or a friend how important they are and that
you are glad they are in your life? How
many of us have said ‘don’t be silly’ or ‘there is no need for that’ when someone has started to cry or expressed
anxiety? How many of us have sent an
emoji rather than saying the words in person?
I have no idea if this would have made a
difference for my son’s friend. And we
have to accept we cannot change that, but we can hope that each time we talk
and demonstrate our vulnerability as humans we open the door for others to talk;
to feel understood, listened to and validated; to know they are not alone - and then be
able to entertain that hope that things can be different. They could even be good.
I am very proud to support MIND.
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