World Suicide Prevention Day – Changing the narrative on suicide

World Suicide Prevention Day is marked on 10^th September – a global movement focusing on raising awareness of suicide, reducing stigma, and encouraging strategies and actions to prevent suicide.

This year’s theme of ‘Changing the narrative on suicide’, highlights the importance of starting a conversation about suicide and having open, compassionate conversations about suicide. It is about shifting from silence and misunderstanding to openness, empathy, and support — creating environments where people feel able to speak up and seek help.

Samaritans has one important message: If you think someone might be suicidal, take action, interrupt their thoughts and show them you care. Suicidal thoughts can be interrupted. The charity surveyed people with lived experience of suicide and the majority told them that their suicidal thoughts have been interrupted.

You can find helpful resources and support the campaign here: https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/world-suicide-prevention-day/

At CPSL Mind, we have produced a campaign video to raise awareness of the importance of talking about suicide and our video shows how to support someone and potentially save lives. Thank you to our expert and compassionate training team for their support in creating this video. The video is not based on real events and been created to raise awareness and understanding of suicidal thoughts. Anne Streather, Trainer at CPSL Mind, asks Catherine Melia, Training Coordinator and Trainer at CPSL Mind how she can support her friend.

Watch and share our video:

*Trigger warning – This videos makes reference to suicidal thoughts 

Suicidal thoughts are more common than you might think.

• According to Samaritans, every 90 minutes, someone in the UK or Ireland dies by suicide.
• 1 in 4 of us has had suicidal thoughts.
• 200 teenagers lost to suicide every year.

Research shows that with appropriate early intervention and support, suicide by young people can be prevented. Regionally, 100 people died by suicide in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in 2023.

Anne Streather, who features in the campaign video and is a Trainer at CPSL Mind, said, “We offer free online suicide understanding and support workshops and talks, that anyone living or working in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is welcome to attend. They help people to be aware who might be vulnerable, to reach out and show them you care and are concerned, to ask about suicide, support someone to stay safe and critically, to look after their own wellbeing. However, we are acutely aware how sensitive this subject is for all of us. The workshops and talks therefore aim to be as helpful and reassuring as possible, and their priority are the safety of those attending with details of where to go for follow-up support.”

Please do share our video on CPSL Mind’s social media accounts and support the campaign. Look for the hashtag #WorldSuicidePreventionDay.

Get in touch with our training team at: training@cpslmind.org.uk to find out more about how we can support you. Find out more about our next upcoming training dates: https://www.cpslmind.org.uk/upcoming-dates-for-stop-suicide-workshops/

You can download a range of STOP Suicide campaign resources for yourself and your community. These include self-help leaflets for those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts as well as those who are concerned that someone they know might be at risk. Visit the STOP Suicide website to download the resources: https://stopsuicidepledge.org/resources-and-information/

You can also visit the ‘Get Help Now’ page on the CPSL Mind website to access resources and support helplines.

https://www.cpslmind.org.uk/get-help-now/