People are killing themselves, do you agree we can do better?
Our systems are struggling, because the people in them are struggling.
Over the past few years of suicide prevention work I’ve supported so many people. I started to help those in need, but found my calling to support the helpers.
Mental health, education, social support – our systems are failing. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of great people doing a lot of great work, but I’ve had so many conversations with university students who feel 100% unprepared for the actual world of mental health. They’ve spent months or even years filling their brains with theory and book knowledge and finally when they land in my hands as volunteers they’re stepping into discomfort for the first time.
Academia doesn’t create the conditions for courage, it nurtures rationalisation and an obsessive focus on causality with it’s constant need for solutions based outcome oriented thinking because the political and financial systems force it to constantly justify its existence.
We are teaching mental health workers: People are broken, you fix them. This outcome obsession dehumanises the very people it seeks to serve, destroying the safety people need to open up, until they snap and get treated like some ‘risk’ to be ‘managed’.
A process rather than a person.
The industry standard for psychologists and mental health organisations is ‘clinical’ everything has to be backed by ‘clinical practice’ yet nobody has ever said, ‘Thank god my therapist is so clinical!’
Organisations need ‘clinical’ in place to fulfil the needs of its funders, for good reason. The history of our mental health institutions is nightmare fuel, so we need good science to back choices, but this massive focus on the macro leaves a huge gap with nobody looking at the micro.
Whether it’s a hospital, non-profit or arm of government, where is the ‘compassion’ department to counterbalance the clinical?
The needs of our organisations run counter to the needs of the humans they serve. We’ve got to help our organisations and institutions embrace a much older way of thinking and a much higher level of complexity.
It’s only a paradigm away.
The gap is not out there. It’s not in waiting for some magical other to come and save us and show us how to marry complex systems. It’s in here. It’s in us. The gap to fill rests in the space between our ribs.
We need a world grounded in humanity.
Courage.
Warmth.
Compassion.
Suicide prevention is a skillset like any other.
It can be learned.
Here’s a handful of essays diving deep into different topics around suicide prevention, all relevant to you no matter your field. Whether you’re here because you want to improve your skills or because you’re just curious, for your work, your volunteer work or even just to better learn to listen to your family and friends.
The whole purpose of these articles is to help you find authentic expression in a world that encourages dissociation and heartlessness like it’s somehow not going to cause burnout.
These skills can be learned.
I’m so tired of the narrative it’s not for everyone.
If you think you’re not able to step into suicide prevention and hold space for people it just means there’s work to be done, inner work. You couldn’t run before you could crawl, right? Or divide before you could add? Every skillset can be mapped out with intention and intelligence, this is exactly the same.
When we break it down, suicide prevention is just about listening, first to ourselves, then to others.
Sure, it’s difficult – but so is suicidal bereavement.
Let’s embrace the complex, open our hearts and look at the people around us who need to feel seen and heard.
I’ve seen this work change so many lives.
Starting with my own.
Countless crisis supporters grow a deeply embodied knowledge that so many carers, disability workers, psychology workers, mental health nurses, emergency service staff and so many others would benefit greatly from having access to. It’s criminal that we don’t put a higher value on this.
What could be more important?
My calling is to help you find your feet in this space.
I’m here to help.
I’ve burnt out twice. I’ve been ground to a pulp between the needs of people suffering on the frontline feeling invisible and handcuffed management afraid to innovate or trust, squeezed by a ruthless political landscape that claims to value innovation but punishes risk taking. I’ve spent thousands of hours on service and thousands of hours reflecting about that time on service, baking into easy to read lessons and articles. Let me help you navigate this weird, challenging universe and find where you belong.
Nobody starts good at this, we all have a difficult journey of growth stepping into it.
Whoever you are, you can grow courage.
Regardless of whether you step into suicide prevention work, the life you want to have is on the other side of the discomfort you’ll have to go through to get it.
We can do better than netflixing our way to depression and anxiety.
I’m here to help, sharing stories of my own journey from cowardice to courageous, analysing and studying what’s out there and what’s in here (I’m pointing at your heart) so you can learn to chart that course for yourself, help others climb and we can all wash through this country and this world like a balm putting out the fires of fear and hurt being spread by systems incentivised to harness our anguish.
If this resonates, join us!
There’s a growing group of people regularly reading the weekly emails I send out, which break down the journey of growing courage into stories, lessons and actions. It’s the best education tool I’ve been able to find because it gives us time to take it slow. No matter when you sign up, you start at the very start so we can go step by step through foundations, up and beyond to advanced techniques.
Plus there’s loads to come, I’m wrangling my finances right now but I will start a community when I can afford the software and hosting etc, join me on socials to stay up to date.
There’s a much more inviting, welcoming world, only a paradigm shift away.