TRIGGER WARNING (this post contains discussion around mental health and suicide) I saw this post on the @the.holistic.psychologist page and it’s been a while since I posted anything about mental health. However as the world is rocked by another high profile death by suicide and statistics continue to rise, especially in young men, I wanted to share some thoughts. The rhetoric around suicide (and mental health as a whole) is so polarising and steeped in stigma that it can inadvertently add to the burden of those suffering. Suicidal ideation - that is thoughts about suicide - occur well before someone actually dies by suicide. Labelling death by suicide as selfish and demonising thinking about it (being dismissive or accusing the person of being melodramatic) adds more shame and guilt to someone’s suffering and is likely to make them withdraw further. Isolation and lack of support are both heavily linked to mental illness and suicide. Conversations around mental illness are challenging. But should be led with a desire to understand WHY a person is feeling so out of control of their emotions that suicide seems like their only option and the focus should be on that cause (how someone is feeling) and solutions NOT the act itself.