Today is World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme is suicide prevention.
Having suicidal thoughts is a common thing but there is a huge amount of stigma around both these thoughts and death by suicide. This stigma means that people experiencing these thoughts may struggle to discuss how they are feeling.
In 2018 deaths by suicide rose by 11.8% so despite the increase of mental health awareness, many people are still unable to get the help they need. Among our members at Changes Bristol, 81% said that attending a peer support group led them to feel less suicidal.
Isolation breeds loneliness and shame. Let’s talk about it.