Boys urged to open up about emotions to fight shocking suicide figures
BOYS are being urged to open up about their emotions after new figures revealed they are six times less likely than girls to talk to seek help for suicidal feelings.
In 2015-16, Childline service delivered 1,934 counselling sessions with boys across the UK compared to 11,463 with girls.
But national statistics show the suicide rate for boys aged 10 to 19 was more than double that for girls in 2015.
Of the 614 contacts to Childline counsellors from children in Wales, just 31 were from boys in 2015-16 compared with 364 from girls.
The charity says it is not known whether the remainder were from boys or girls.
The boys who did get in touch with Childline talked about a wide range of issues including relationship worries, abuse, bullying, sexuality and gender identity, and mental health issues alongside feeling suicidal.
Twelve to 15-year-olds were most likely to be counselled about suicide.
In 20% of counselling sessions where boys mentioned if they had confided in anyone else, they said it was the first time they had spoken to anybody about their suicidal thoughts or feelings.
One young person told NSPCC-run Childline: “I keep having suicidal thoughts and I feel like I need to speak to someone. I have thought about telling my mum but I think she will say that I just need to get over it.
“I have exams coming up but I haven’t been able to concentrate because of these thoughts I keep having. What should I do?”
Another young person said he started calling Childline aged 14 when he experienced suicidal feelings. He said: “I was nervous before I called as I didn’t know what they would say and whether they would judge me. That was my biggest worry but I knew I needed support. I called them and said ‘I think I need help’. They were really friendly and the more I spoke to them, the easier it was.
“If it was urgent and I needed to speak to someone straight away because I was angry or felt like selfharming then I would call them. They calmed me down and gave me advice on techniques to use to stop me selfharming.”
Today, Childline is launching its new Tough to Talk campaign, backed by footballer Wayne Rooney, which includes a film called Things Guys Don’t Talk About, aiming to help boys seek support for suicidal feelings.
Des Mannion, head of NSPCC