World Suicide Prevention Day 2020- What are your top tips for mental wellbeing?

Tori_Scope

It was World Suicide Prevention Day 2021 last Friday. The theme was 'creating hope through action'. The National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA) have some interesting blogs on their website, which are well worth a read. Here are a few examples:

• False Hopes and High Hopes: a personal reflection, Emma, NSPA Lived Experience Influencer
• A personal reflection on hope
• A personal reflection on hope, Katherine, NSPA Lived Experience Influencer
• A personal reflection on hope, Dennis, NSPA Lived Experience Influencer
• A perspective from Amy: Samaritans volunteer, Glasgow

Samaritans have also compiled a list of tips to help you stay hopeful during a difficult time:

1. Go for a walk with a friend
   
2. Pause for a moment - try a breathing exercise, take time to appreciate, and challenge negative beliefs
3. Practice gratitude - keep a gratitude journal,  
4. Stream some hopeful music

What helps you to stay hopeful during difficult times? Is there anything, or anyone, you feel particularly grateful for? How are you really doing at the moment?

leeCal

One thing I’d advise is not to catastrophise, it’s easy to create a horrible list of problems and begin to feel that they are all insurmountable, but many problems are solvable if you take them one at a time. Sometimes they are even solvable by others so don’t be afraid to share your troubles with your GP or friend or a member of the clergy if you know of one. 

Remember, never give up, overcoming problems really will serve to make you a stronger and more empathetic person.