Over 6,000 British people took their own lives in 2017, a Samaritans report revealed last year.
Shockingly, the same report found that men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
So why are the numbers for males taking their own lives so high?
Dan Poole, 29, tried to take his own life on separate occasions during his youth.
He has since set up One More Life, a support group that aims to tackle mental health and the stigma against it.
Listen below to get Dan’s thoughts on why believes men in particular struggle to open up on how they are feeling.
Middlesbrough’s mental pain
The statistics for the town’s troubles with mental illness represent some of the worst in the country.
It is estimated that just under 20,000 in Middlesbrough are suffering from mental illness (depression, anxiety, etc.) at any one time, according to numbers published on Middlebsrough’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment site.
This suggests that 14.3% of the Middlesbrough population suffer from a form of mental illness, over 2% superior to the average for England (11.7%).
Moving forward
It goes without saying that mental health awareness needs to be raised significantly, both nationally and globally.
Being the taboo subject that it clearly is, sadly it looks as though the issue will continue to carry on unless more ways are discovered to help those suffering in silence.
It would be extremely simple for someone to say that no one can be helped unless they admit they are struggling.
However, that is one of the reasons as to why this will continue to be a problem.
Depression is an illness that can strike anybody down, at any time.
Take Mike Thalassitis for example. The 26-year-old Love Island star sadly took his life in March this year, following a secret battle with depression.
Prior to his tragic passing, people on the outside looking in would have thought that Thalassitis had everything going for him.
Whether he did or not, all of them things don’t matter when it comes to mental illness.
For many, depression diagnosis can come with no clear cause which is often one of the most difficult things to understand.
If you need immediate help:
A confidential support service for anyone at any time.
• 116 123 (free to call from within the UK and Ireland), 24 hours a day
• Email: jo@samaritans.org
It is incredibly important to realise that no matter who it is, you will always have someone to speak to.
ABOUT ME
Hello, my name is Olly Burdett and I am a Multimedia Journalist in the final year of my degree at Teesside University.
Course
Sport Journalism, BA (Hons)
Biography
Having written passionately about football before my time at Teesside University, I decided to make the move from Hull to Middlesbrough to expand my journalistic skills and capabilities. During the last three years, my interests in journalism have changed significantly. After experiencing the high levels of homelessness in the town and discovering the shocking statistics around male suicide in the North East, I decided I wanted to move away from sport slightly and instead report on issues that I believe really mattered. Additionally, politics has dominated our day-to-day lives recently and despite finding it difficult to keep track of it all, I have become incredibly interested in what is happening in both our country and the world. I haven’t completely lost my passion for sport though. A lot of my recent content now looks at the relationship between sport and mental health.
Software & Hardware Proficiencies
I am an Adobe Certified Associate in Visual Design using Adobe Photoshop. I am also skilled in other Adobe software such as Audition and Premiere Pro. I am equipped at using video cameras such as the AC-90.
Employment, Work Experience & Volunteering
I have experience of producing work for both Sky News and BBC Tees. I have also carried out work for Middlesbrough Football Club, Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation and Tees Valley Sport. I voluntarily worked as a Social Media Manager for Stockton-based charity A Way Out as part of their 2018 Christmas campaign.
Interests
Despite studying on a Sport Journalism course, I have a huge interest in a different number of topics.
During my time at Teesside University, I have created content around current affairs and politics, as well as mental health.
One thing that I believe really shows in my content is that I love learning about new topics and issues to increase both my knowledge and flexibility. Who knows what I will post about next?
