**Trigger warning: contains references to suicide**
For World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10th of September 2020, we hear from the Time to Change Wales staff who speak up about why it's so important to end the stigma around suicide so that people can speak out about the help they need. June reflects on a suicide in the family and the importance of allowing people to talk about their mental health and taking them seriously when it comes to discussions of suicide.
It’s been two years in July since I lost my friend Steph to suicide. It’s taken me much longer to be able to write this than I thought it would be. But now that I'm writing it I'm finding the words are coming easily to me. Despite working for Time to Change Wales, an anti-stigma campaign which breaks down the barriers to talking about our mental health, it can still be incredibly hard to talk about our own experiences - especially when it comes to losing close ones to suicide.
The news of Steph’s passing was an unbelievable shock. “Of all people” I found myself thinking when I got the call. We’d drifted apart after university but Steph was always known for her contagious laugh, huge smile, bright sparkling eyes and stunning singing voice. Everyone wanted to be friends with Steph, she lit up any room she walked into. It sounds like some sort of cliché - “check in with your strong friends” but ultimately that’s what it boils down to. You never know what someone is going through underneath the surface. That’s why it’s so important for these conversations to be normalised. You always wonder if there’s more you could have done in these situations, and the truth is yes there is more that we as a collective society can do. We can end the stigma around talking about mental health, so that things like contemplating suicide can be talked about so that appropriate help can be sought. You don’t have to be an expert to talk about mental health, you just need to be there to listen and know there are helplines and websites and groups out there, sometimes it just starts with a visit to the GP.
I remember even though I was working on the Time to Change Wales campaign at the time, I didn’t know how to talk about her passing to suicide. When the ‘memory' came up on my Facebook and I wrote a new post this year however, I could see the difference in my words and feeling more confident about speaking about suicide and depression. Change starts with you, with us. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and I’m using this day to listen to stories and learn what I can so that I can know how to help someone, or myself, if the time comes.
Here are the words I wrote just a month ago -
"Remembering Steph. I wish I could hear her beautiful voice and laugh again! Be kind to each other, be kind to ourselves. Suicide and depression affects even the sunniest souls. Please know you’re never alone if you’re struggling - there are always options & people to turn to. Even when it feels like there’s no hope, you never know where you might be a year from now or how much the world might have changed in that time. 2020 is a real reminder how much can change. And how we can get through very difficult times, by having community and support. I’m always here for anyone who wants to talk and please check out Mind Charity or the Time to Change campaign that I work on for more information and support.”