Guest Commentary | Mental health: Check in with those around you
In order to be truly healthy, people need to work on their physical health as well as their mental health.
However, mental health often does not receive as much attention as it deserves. Men’s mental health gets even less attention.
In youth suicide (ages 10-24), males are nearly three times more likely to die by suicide than their female peers. That doesn’t go away with age either.
Our communities are affected by mental health not getting the attention it needs.
Simply having more conversations at home, with friends, at work, or at extracurriculars can make a positive impact. By having these conversations, we create a space where someone can feel safe to speak up when they’re struggling.
Check in on those around you.
Many times, people face mental health issues in silence, which can cause them to feel isolated and alone. Give them the opportunity to share what they’re dealing with and be willing to listen.
Talking about what someone’s experiencing and listening to them is the easiest way to help them realize they’re not alone.
Making these conversations more common and having them in routine environments helps normalize addressing mental health and supporting those who experience mental health struggles whether they choose to talk about them or not.
You can never truly know what is going on inside someone else’s head.
While sometimes there are visible effects of someone struggling with their mental health, others you would never be able to tell are facing a battle we can’t see.
Having conversations, being willing to listen, and offering support are things that everyone is capable of doing to improve the way our communities address mental health.
For more information about resources, suicide prevention, ordering materials, accessing training videos, or finding the closest Jason Foundation Affiliate Office near you, visit jasonfoundation.com.
The Jason Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of youth and young adult suicide through awareness and education. Be willing to have hard conversations. Stay informed so that when those hard conversations happen, you are prepared to help in any way possible.
Mallory Wire is the division director of The Jason Foundation, Inc.