Column: Jack Sargeant AM “If you are worried about someone reach out to them”

Alyn and Deeside AM Jack Sargent will be writing a regular column on Deeside.com with updates on his work in the Welsh Assembly and closer to home.

Jack writes: A few days ago a mate of mine tagged me into a Facebook post about male suicide. 

The post encouraged us to share and to reach out to men in our lives to check they are ok. I was proud to click the share button. 

As I have said before suicide is a public health crisis in this country and this is particularly the case for men. 

Men make up 75% of suicide death and the highest suicide rate in Wales is among men aged 40-44, tragically suicide is the single biggest killer of men, under the age of 45. 

So why is the suicide rate so much higher amongst men? The first thing to say is it is complicated, each individual case of course has unique factors but one key element is communication.

It would be oversimplifying things to simply say women are more willing to share their problems and men tend to bottle them up.

However, it is also true that for generations, our society has encouraged men to be “strong” and not admit they are struggling.

This got me thinking about the importance of communication during the current crisis. 

We are already seeing early indications that the lockdown is leading to an increase in suicide attempts.

Life can be hard and we can easily become isolated when we have to stay at home. 

There is no getting round it, we do have to stay at home if we are going to defeat the virus but now more than ever we need reach out and contact each other. 

If you are worried about someone reach out to them.

This piece of advice from the Samaritans is really well put – If you think somebody might need help, trust your instincts and strike up a conversation.

Although we can’t physically be in the same room, it doesn’t mean we can’t talk to each other.

It’s never been easier to stay in touch while being apart, You can still show compassion and empathy by using messaging apps, skype, zoom, virtual communities and on the phone.

If you are unsure how to use these, you can send an email or even a letter. 

If you are worried about yourself or a friend help is out there, visit the Samaritans website and find out more. https://www.samaritans.org/. 

Going forward our understanding of these stark facts needs to translate into action, I will continue to speak up about this and constructively challenge the Welsh and UK governments to do more.

Thanks to those that are raising this important issue on Facebook and remember keep talking to each other. ”