CROSSWORD

A council scheme aimed at tackling teenage mental health issues through exercise has been described as a step in the right direction. But Marianne Mearns, who lost her brother Stephen to suicide in May, believes the local authority could push harder to help ease the suffering of young people in the region.

I think it’s a wonderful step in the right direction.

Exercise is known to have a positive impact on mental health as well as physical.

That said, I think something that does need to be addressed is perhaps the taboo around feeling suicidal and self harm.

The idea that they are attention seeking, and if they were serious they wouldn’t have spoken about it.

It’s still shockingly common to associate it with attention seeking and that the truly suicidal are holding it in until they go through with it.

When I was a stupid kid, thats how I thought, and when I fell into the dark place myself it was a massive wake up call, to want to cry for help but feel nobody wants to listen and to look up help online and see posts on forums calling them “attention seekers”.

I feel a campaign encouraging the mentally ill not to be too afraid to call for help - that it’s okay to seek attention sometimes! You are loved. You are needed. You are wanted. And we care enough to help you fight the pain inside you so that suicide no longer looks like the answer.

And to encourage the mentally healthy to educate themselves on what depression and suicidal thoughts really entail and urge them to take any cries for help extremely seriously.

The perceptions behind being suicidal need to change, and if doing so helps even one person rethink their 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 12. 13. 15. 18.