Sam talks about World Suicide Prevention Day.
Mental health is of paramount importance to us all. We all have good and bad days. But we must enhance our understanding of how others are feeling in order to prevent these situations from getting worse. September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day and this year’s theme is all about creating hope through action.
Current statistics state are alarming; in an average year, 703,000 people take their own lives; an estimated 20 times this number attempt to end their lives while many others have the ideology. By comparison, 703,000 is only 90,000 short of the population of Leeds.
At Enrych, we are very much tuned in to understanding the way in which mental health can be affected. We are constantly looking at activities we can host which promote a positive mindset and create that much needed sense of hope. We have collaborated with organisations such as Wild Minds to host forest bathing sessions, which is well known as a helpful strategy in lifting people’s mental health.
We also host events such as Boccia and Multisports which always have fantastic attendance. Physical activity is well known in term of promoting well-being and positive thinking. This is another place where people can make new friends and have fun. This is also a huge part of our overall mission at Enrych- to remove the barriers to participation in social events!
One thing that I think people are much more aware of nowadays, is that there is no “one size fits all” approach to tackling mental health.. What works for one person may not work for another. But we will always look for ways we can create inclusive environments where people can choose the ways in which they want to get involved in the event and experience the right amount of social interaction in their means.
There are so many ways we can help each other enhance our collective mental health. One thing that is a regular in my daily routine is going for walks. I also love to chat to friends and check in with them each day and talk about our common interests such as sport and music.
Another thing that we have done at Enrych is connected with people throughout North West Leicestershire mental health organisations to help make our clients and service users aware of mental health support. We aim to be responsive to the needs of our clients and the overall community and signpost people in the right direction to access the support that they critically need.
Anyone can struggle, whatever scenario they may be faced with. At Enrych, we take pride in the way we take time out to ask how each other are feeling. We introduced plastic faces to signal how we feel each time we are in the office. If someone may signal an orange or red face, we have that sense of togetherness, while also not bombarding each other with ideas of how to fix yourself. Listening is the most important thing. But we will also take the time out to celebrate when someone signals a green face as I feel that it is equally, if not more important to celebrate when things are going well. Connect with us and see for yourself the extent of the work we are doing to help prevent suicide and create a positive movement to tackle mental health challenges. As they say, it’s okay to let people know that things aren’t okay. At Enrych we are here to try and understand how we can support when things aren’t okay and celebrate when they are.
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