It’s currently Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. According to Rethink Mental Illness charity, UK men are “three times as likely to die by suicide than women”. Mental Health UK says suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the country.
Recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics (Quarter 4, October – December 2021) continue to show that three times as many men as women have died by suicide. Quarterly suicide death registrations in England – Office for National Statistics
UK Men’s Sheds help men overcome the challenges of isolation and loneliness, depression, lost hope and purpose, and for many, are a lifeline. Through informal chats, friendship and social contact, Sheds can help support people that are struggling with their mental health, and that may feel suicidal.
But what should you do if someone tells you they feel suicidal? Sometimes you might find yourself in the position where someone you know (or a stranger) tells you they are struggling with their mental health and are feeling suicidal.
It’s important for us all to know how to support someone in this situation and where we might turn to for support ourselves.
Zero Suicide Alliance offer free online training that anyone can access. There are different learning options, including a full length session (20 minutes) and a gateway module (5-10 minutes). These sessions will ensure you know useful things to say and questions to ask a person that has disclosed suicidal feelings, and how to offer support. They are also available in Welsh language.
Rethink Mental Illness also have a useful factsheet on how to support someone that is feeling suicidal if you would rather have a printable resource that you can share with your Shed.
Another useful resource is a session we ran at the virtual 2021 ShedFest, delivered by Patrick Abrahams and Peter Larkum, about how to help others with their mental health and the ways in which you might start conversations about how people are feeling.
You can view it on our YouTube channel here – Helping others with their Mental Health : ShedFest 2021 – YouTube.