Hi,

I am a first time blogger so please bear with me if this is not the style of blog of which you’re used to.  My name is Mel and my brother Martyn took his own life 4 years ago, he was a farmer, 27 and we had no idea he was struggling to cope. He was not in touch with services, he had just got married 4 months before.

In hindsight my brother was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders; I can remember seeing him looking stressed andbeing quiet. I am a mental health social worker and I forgot to ask him if he was ok?  I did not give him the chance to tell me how he was doing; he listened to me, but then he did not get much of a chance not to!

If you are worried about someone, a work colleague, personalfriend or service user; remember to ask them how they are feeling.

Did you know that it is World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10thSeptember?

Well you do now, so talk about it. Think about how people struggle and feel trapped between a rock and a hard place. There are organisations that can help, but you can too. A smile can oftenhelp and so can giving someone some of your time. If you ask someone if they are thinking about ending their life; you’re not going to make them feel worse and you will not be the reason why they might choose to take their own life - but you could be the reason why they don’t.

Here is a link to a great trailer for a film about suicide – U can Cope. Please watch and encourage others to watch and share it. It is only a couple of minutes long; the full film is 22 mins long.

U can Cope Trail

As part of the World Suicide Prevention Day, I am sharing Martyn’s story and promoting the above film.

In Barnsley we are having promotion of the launch of the film on the psychiatric wards and a public café. I am speaking with the Council to get the film on loop at pay points across the borough. I have put it on my Facebook page and have emailed it to all of my contacts. Barnsley’s public health department are also promoting this. Think about it-, what could you do to help?