#LittleThings
September 08, 2018
I have a website I like to visit www.daysoftheyear.com which has all the odd quirky days that are marked round the world like 'Odd Sock Day' and 'Hug a Tree Day'. But I'm feeling more sombre as it tells me that the 10th of September is World Suicide Prevention Day.
Before moving to Ireland I have never encountered anyone that I know of that had tried or committed suicide. That story is very different now. My social circle has increased massively since moving so I know a lot more people but not to the extent that the number of suicides in this area seems 'normal'.
Whenever I'm faced with something I don't know about or understand I like to look for facts. This helps me keep puts in perspective and last year 1% of all deaths in Ireland was as a result of suicide which you could say isn't huge. However, that also means that today when you read this more than one person in Ireland is going to take their own life.
When I moved here I also became much more aware of my own mental health. I had gone from working in a high pressured job that I enjoyed to not working at all. One day I couldn't be bothered to get dressed and stayed in my pyjamas. Then suddenly I realised the days I had nothing to get dressed for were becoming more frequent that the days I did get dressed and I took some action. I'm lucky that I was in a mental state that I was able to see it and do something about it but it gave me a very small insight as to how people can get into this cycle. And if they don't have the ability to pull themselves out of it, or someone to help them do it, where could it end?
I can't pretend to even begin to understand how a person gets to that point and I hope and I pray that I will never know. But I have seen the devastation it causes and I hope that I don't offend anyone by taking about a subject that still fells like it can't be talked about.
This year for World Suicide Prevention day the campaign they are running really struck a cord. It give some tips on #LittleThings we can do to mind our own mental health and the website it's really worth a visit. So on #WSPD18 and everyday lets take a bit of time to mind ourselves and mind each other.
http://www.yourmentalhealth.ie/get-involved/littlethings-campaign/
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