Minds@Work has organised a free event to help workplaces talk openly about suicide. ‘Let’s talk about suicide’, will be hosted by Schroders in London Wall on 19th September 2019 at 6:30pm.
According to Minds@Work co-founder Geoff McDonald, “Shame stops people from talking about their mental health struggles, and sadly it’s those who can’t speak about their feelings and get timely help, that are the most at risk of dying by suicide.”
Alarming statistics from the Mental Health Foundation, reveals that someone in the UK dies by suicide every two hours, and about 1 in 5 adults over the age of 16 say that they have had suicidal thoughts.
Photo credit: Ulrike May from Pixabay
TALKING SAVES LIVES
Suicide is topic that is usually discussed in hushed tones and this event aims to “turn up the volume” to enable workplace leaders to talk openly about a difficult, yet necessary topic.
“Talking saves lives,” stresses McDonald. Having suffered from mental illness some years ago, MacDonald believes that be wouldn’t be alive today had he not been able to talk openly about it. However, McDonald lost a good friend to suicide, because of his friend’s inability to talk about his mental health.
After reaching the conclusion that “stigma killed my friend”, McDonald set out to eradicate stigma around mental health issues through the sharing of stories, and help create workplaces that are life-enhancing.
The free event is designed to help today’s workplaces better deal with mental health issues, where staff genuinely feel that they have a choice and can ask for help if they are suffering, says McDonald. It will feature speakers from the Samaritans who will help the audience to spot the warning signs and offer guidance on how to help friends at risk of committing suicide. Delegates will also hear from those who have lost family, friends and colleagues, as well as those that have recovered and now live a happy life they once thought impossible.
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