Conversations about Suicide

I would like to share a post from BeyondBlue's website on Suicide. If you have concerns about someone in your life who may be at risk or even yourself please contact LifeLine 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue's Support Service 1300 22 4636.

The impact of suicide is huge, not only does it impact on family, but also the community, the friend network. In Australia, Suiscide is the biggest cause of death for male and females 15 - 44 years and its getting worse. Its cause is complex, and its impact devastating. Maggie Dent, often talks about the layering of one issue on top of another and while most of us have the capacity to defuse the ticking time bomb inside our head, for some the adding of another layer ends up being too much. Tragically for those around the victim, they never know which layer was too much.

We need to have a conversation about this national mental health emergency. We need to say its okay to talk about how we feel, whats happening inside our head and why. Its okay to express how we feel about others we are close to and about the feelings that confuse us or what is happening in our lives that get us down.

At the moment, you will have noticed a lot of tweets, social media posts about this very issue, lots of young men and women are posting the tag #ITSOKAYTOTALK. This hashtag is the brain child of UK Rugby player Luke Amber who's brother in law became another victim of this mental health crisis in July this year. He wanted to encourage men to talk, because the UK statistics are as horrific as Australia's.

In 2014, 2864 Australians took their own lives. This is almost eight people per day -- one every three hours.* There are also seven suicide attempts every hour nationwide, The solution is not to judge, but instead create a space where people feel safe to tell you how they feel, be compassionate and empathic, make a difference and reach out. Suicidal thoughts or behaviour indicates a deep unhappiness and does not mean that the person has a mental disorder.

Shane's Story on BeyondBlue's website is a great start to understanding how we can be better at making a difference. BeyondNow is a support application that can be with you everyday to help you overcome the feelings you have and also help you indertsnad how others may be feeling and how you can help and support.

What is BeyondNow?

Convenient and confidential, the BeyondNow app puts your safety plan in your pocket so you can access and edit it at any time. You can also email a copy to trusted friends, family or your health professional so they can support you when you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or heading towards a suicidal crisis. 

For the Web -based application click this link and share it with friends. If you have a SmartPhone IOS or ANDROID the Links are here iTunes and Google Play

Each of us can make a difference, #itsoktotalk, take the time to ask and then take the time to listen, and stick around.

* Hunter Institute of Mental Health - Suicide data 2014 analysis from Hunter Institute of Mental Health