Hope Through Action

The theme of World Suicide Prevention Day 2023 was ‘Hope Through Action’. So here, we’ve shared a few thoughts on the small, every day actions you can take to help prevent suicide. Because so many suicides are preventable; not inevitable.

Watch the video below, and/or you can read along with the text underneath.

[if the video doesn’t play, you can watch it by clicking here]

First things first!

This video’s talking about suicide. Which is an important conversation to have, but if you’re in a place where this conversation might be triggering for you, it’s perhaps best to give this one a skip.

In the next couple minutes I’m gonna give you 5 ways that you, yes you, can prevent suicide. Because many suicides are preventable. Not inevitable.

It’s great to see that the conversation around suicide prevention and mental health in general has progressed over the last 10 years that we’ve been doing HATW.

But conversation is only half of the journey.

We need is action – and that’s not as big and scary as you might think.

Suicide prevention is a funny thing (not like funny haha; you know what I mean). I think a lot of the time, we think it has to be some big, deep, profound, almost Hollywood style intervention. But suicide prevention takes all sorts of forms.

Suicide prevention is: having a sense of community & belonging

Whether that’s part of something like a music scene, or a club, or a team, or even just a sense of cultural identity. I know for me, finding pop-punk, and becoming part of the alternative music scene & playing drums became so much more than a hobby; it was how I actually made friends, felt like I had a purpose, and gave me a sense of direction. So if you’re thinking of starting a club, or a team, or a band. Go do it. And if you’re part of a club, or a group or whatever, drop a comment, to help new folks find it.

Suicide prevention is: helping people feel seen & understood

It’s about human connection. When was the last time you actually got kinda deep with one of your mates? And really took the time to understand where they’re coming from? What makes them tick, and what makes them feel better when life kicks them down?

Ask twice how someone’s doing. And really listen to what they’re telling you. Ask questions to find out more, and understand how they’ve got to this point. And honestly, that’s just good advice for whatever headspace they’re in. People still want to feel heard and seen in their good days.

Suicide prevention is: standing up for marginalised groups

We need allies to actively help people who are facing discrimination because of their identity. I guess this comes back to people feeling seen & understood. Validate people for being who they are, and help them feel supported, regardless of their identity. Because at the end of the day. Everyone is a human being, who’s worthy of love, kindness, and respect.

Here’s a great post written by our friend Natalie about exactly that!

Suicide prevention is: helping people find healthy coping mechanisms

And the truth is, we all have coping mechanisms. Granted, some more positive than others. But we’ve all got stuff that helps pick us up when we’re feeling down. A big part of whether something’s gonna be helpful for your mental health is just the act of you doing it mindfully. It doesn’t matter what it is that you’re doing, but whatever your thing is, do it and tell yourself you’re doing it to help your brain.

Suicide prevention is: being in touch with our emotions.

And understanding where feelings and thoughts are coming from. That could be a simple exercise like writing down how you’re feeling, and then writing it out to understand where it’s coming from.

Ultimately, when it comes to supporting mental health in any form, small actions make a huge difference.

So this is a reminder to you, that you absolutely have the power to help prevent suicide. And even by taking the time to watch this, and – if you found it helpful – sharing it, you’re helping to create a world where talking openly about suicide is okay. And that has the potential to hugely change how someone’s story goes.

If you found this helpful

Please help us keep on creating content just like this, by grabbing some of our merch with a message! You get some sweet new threads, and we’re able to keep sharing a message of hope and help. Everybody wins!