Mission
To raise awareness of the high suicide rates associated with males between the ages of 20 and 49 in the UK and to forward the message;
“It takes a stronger man to talk about his mental health, then simply ignoring it”
Quick facts
- The UK has the highest suicide rates in the whole of Europe
- Men between the age of 20 – 49 have the highest suicide rate in the UK
- The last survey for Veterans committing suicide, was 2009 (maybe slightly off topic as this includes females and is specific to Veterans, however, approx. 18 Veterans have committed suicide since April 2018 and were all males!).
It is a huge topic which is having a devastating impact on the UK predominantly due to;
- The English culture of maintaining “A stiff upper lip”.
- Pride men feel, the need to be strong and man of the house.
- Fear of being judged or seen as weak by their peers.
- Attitudes of: “Man up and get on with it……”
Aim
To gain access to thirty, short video interviews of you, the every day working men and women of Bicester and around the UK, including: Town Mayor, Councillors, Fire, Police, Ambulance, Military, Businessmen and Rugby players. They will be aired on all the social media platforms, one a day, from Monday 10 September (which is World Suicide Prevention Day) through to Wednesday 10 October (which is World Mental Health Day).
You are all invited to take part and are asked to speak of personal challenges, experiences of suicide within your family, friends or work colleague circles and/or mental ill health including: Stress, Anxiety and Depression, the impact it had and how speaking out about things could or would have made a difference.
We will be producing several of our own videos during this time, but it will be YOUR videos that shall be driving this and so we emplore you to show your support and get filming within the safety of your own homes. All we ask is that the video is no longer than 3 or 4 minutes long, is of good audio and visual quality and contains no swearing as they will be going out on social media.
Feel free to email us for more information and to send a link to your OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox folder to access the video of your story OR Tweet us with your thoughts and do show your support by using #Realmentalk, we would be honoured to hear about your experiences.
