Supporting the mental health of others

Trigger Warning: this blog includes mention of suicide.

As World Suicide Prevention Day is on Tuesday 10 September 2024, the first part of our ‘how to support others to optimise their mental wellbeing’ blog, focuses on how you can support others and how organisations can build a culture of prevention. The second blog (which will be published in October) will address the barriers to creating that culture.

World Suicide Prevention Day has been established to ‘raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented’. We agree. This is why we are publishing this blog, to help you help those around you, because as someone once told us, “Suicide will always be a permanent solution to what can be a temporary problem”.

You do not need to be a medical professional or mental health expert to support others, anyone can provide support when they spot someone who may be experiencing mental ill-health, or if someone is brave enough to reach out to you.

Why World Suicide Prevention Day is important

Four in five suicides are by men, with suicide the biggest cause of death for men under 35. [1]

In 2022/23, stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 49% of work-related ill health and 54% of all working days lost due to ill health. [2]

And yet, only 6% of men, and 4% of women, said that they would discuss their mental health experiences with their employer. [3]

According to a study, it is estimated that up to 135 people [4] can be affected by a single suicide – family, friends, colleagues, first responders including medical and police staff, and the wider community are also impacted. Those closest to the deceased will also need specialist suicide bereavement support. Therefore, this is not just about prevention of suicide, but also about support for those affected by it.

Everyone is different

I’m a talker, I’m also hugely expressive, so if I’m feeling it, you’ll see it in what I say and do. But, for other people the happy, carefree demeanour they present to their family, friends and colleagues may mask their true feelings, experiences, concerns, fears and ill-health.

As I write this blog I remember Robin Williams – one of the world’s most loved and talented comedic actors, who died by suicide in August 2014.

I’m also thinking about Chris (our Patron’s husband) and his family and friends. Chris worked in construction for 30 years. In 2019, he experienced a mental health crisis brought on by severe work-related stress, which developed at rapid speed and had catastrophic consequences. Chris died by suicide. His family have asked us to share this video so that people, “Reach out before it becomes too late, because my family’s experienced it [suicide] and it’s the worst thing anyone can experience.”

In the same year that Chris died by suicide, one of my friends also lost their life to suicide. He was at the heart of one of our friendship groups, bringing us together, entertaining, always smiling and having a laugh. After his death, I kept asking myself, “Should I have been able to spot the signs? Could I have done anything?”

This is why I became a Mental Health First Aider and it is why I wanted to work for a mental health charity. Having the knowledge and skills to spot the signs, also gives me the confidence to start a conversation, and importantly know when to signpost further support. The aim of this blog, therefore, is to share this with you so that, together, we can support those around us.

More recently, the family of Graham Thorpe, former England cricketer, announced that Graham took his own life after experiencing depression and anxiety. In an interview with the Guardian, Graham’s daughter Kitty said, “We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too.”

To provide a holistic solution, this blog article is split into two halves: firstly, what we, as family members, friends and colleagues can do; and secondly, strategies organisations can implement.

What we can do

So, what are the signs that someone may need support? The list below is not exhaustive, and as we saw above, not everyone will demonstrate all or some of these:

Disrupted sleep.
Muscle tension.
Stomach or bowel upset.
Anxiety or depression.
Heart conditions.
Feeling restless or agitated.
Feeling tearful.
Not wanting to talk to or be with people.
Using alcohol or drugs to cope with your feelings.
Finding it hard to cope with everyday things.
Being late, absent or exhibiting ‘presenteeism’ at work.
Lack of concentration.
Not finding the joy in life.

If this resonates with you – please reach out to someone you trust, a friend, family member, colleague, and/or medical professional or charity. You can find a list of support services here.

Having learnt to spot the signs, the next step is to start a conversation. This may seem daunting, but remember, no harm will come to either of you by asking if that person is okay. Evidence shows that asking someone if they are feeling suicidal decreases the likelihood of them taking their own life. By asking someone directly about suicide, you allow them to tell you how they feel, let them know that they are not a burden, and that support is available.

We all have the power to start the conversation, no matter how daunting it may seem. Here is some guidance on how to do that:

Take them seriously – it is a common misconception to assume they are attention-seeking. Even if they do not act on their thoughts, it is important to listen and offer support.
Do not avoid the topic – professionals recommend asking direct questions about suicide. Many people feel relieved and less isolated when they are asked directly.
Ask open questions – these are questions that invite someone to say more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’, such as “how have you been feeling?” or “What happened next?”.
Do not blame - you might feel shocked or upset but it is important not to blame the person for how they are feeling. They may have taken a big step by telling you.
Reassurance, respect and support can help someone to recover from a difficult time.
Signpost – please remember, that you are not expected to have all of the answers, you may well need to signpost the person to further support, e.g., your HR or EAP (if you have one), call 111 or refer them to their GP or mental health team, or a list of services can be found on our Need Help page who will be able to offer professional help.

Strategies employers can implement

Mental health in the workplace is a legal requirement. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, The Equalities Act 2010, and Protection from Harassment Act 1997, employers have a duty of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees, including mental health/stress, and to protect employees with mental ill-health against discrimination and harassment.

We believe that implementing a continuous and comprehensive approach can help reduce the likelihood of individuals reaching a crisis point, as supporting positive mental health in and through work becomes an integral part of everyone’s role. Therefore, we recommend the following steps:

Management: Gaining management buy-in is an essential first step in ensuring that mental wellbeing is integrated into the organisation. Through open, collaborative, and inclusive communication, management can achieve wider organisational buy-in and manage any resistance to change.
Assessment: Assess the current situation, identify any gaps in provision, and determine necessary changes. This can involve desk research (reviewing existing policies/health support, analysing sickness records, staff turnover rates, and reasons for leaving), as well as consulting with employees. Anonymous surveys (e.g., using an online tool like Survey Monkey) are recommended for employee consultation, as many UK employees do not feel comfortable disclosing mental health or psychological conditions.
Targets: Define your vision and plan how to achieve it.
Education: Provide the entire workforce with the skills, knowledge, tools, and confidence to create a peer support network, which will contribute to building a safer workplace for everyone.
Support: Offer relevant provisions to enable employees, supply chains, and contractors to access the support they need when they need it.

To ensure the success of your strategy, it is important to:

Communicate: Provide relevant, timely, and accessible communication materials to the workforce, demonstrating an open and supportive culture to address the stigma of mental health and encourage conversations. Free posters and resources are available on our website: https://bit.ly/MinMHowWeHelp
Progress: Review the above stages at least every two years to evaluate the current situation, demonstrate progress, and identify new targets for the future.

However, providing support for workers may not be easy for smaller employers. According to Government data, only 45% of workers in Great Britain have access to Occupational Health services, [5] which include mental health treatment and prevention services for, amongst other things, stress, depression and anxiety. In addition, whilst 92% of large employers provide some form of Occupational Health for their staff, this compares to just 18% of small employers. [6] This is significant, because at the start of 2022, 5.47 million private sector businesses were categorised as a small business (0-49 employees). [7]

So how do small employers and particularly sole traders, access mental health support?

To solve this issue, we are calling on medium and large sized organisations to support the small organisations and sole traders within their supply chains, to achieve their legal duty of care to ensure the health (including mental health) and safety of their employees. Supporting your supply chain to become mentally resilient is important as it benefits the employees, their employer, and the wider local community. It also benefits your organisation, by demonstrating your:

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) credentials.
Commitment to improving the mental health of all workers in your sector.
Achievements and impact through your own pre- and post-programme assessments, and anonymised supply chain assessments.

To find out how you can support your own teams as well as your supply chain, please visit our Champions Programme page.

Please remember

By developing the skills and confidence to offer support, and through being brave and asking for it, together we can try to prevent people reaching the point of crisis. Just remember to:

Always ask twice if someone is okay.
Signpost to further support if needed.
Speak to someone yourself after you have supported someone.

Next steps

In this blog we have looked at how you can support those around you to try to prevent someone reaching the point of crisis. In October we will publish the second part of this blog – which will focus on the barriers you may face and how to overcome them.  

If you would like to be kept informed about our new blogs, resources, training and more, please sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page. 

If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please share a link to it on your social media channels and if you are able to, we would really appreciate you finding out how you can support us to raise awareness of mental health, address the stigma and create positive mental health in and through work.