The Evening Times ran an article about figures in a new report showing that women from Lanarkshire experience higher-than-average rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths than other parts of Scotland. The region recorded the second-highest rate in Scotland with 6.42 deaths per 1,000 births. However it is worth noting that the figure of 7,096 Lanarkshire resident […]
Essential mental health information
Staff should be ALERT.
Working for the NHS means we are more likely to be in contact with someone who is experiencing emotional distress or at risk of suicidal ideas.
The signs can be ambiguous in nature which can make it difficult to see them and staff have a very important part to play in ‘reading between the lines’ and act on the warning signs.
Be ALERT
Ask someone if they have thought about suicide. Talking does not make it worse – it helps
Listen and show you care
Encourage them to get help
Right now
Tell someone. You can’t do it alone.
It’s important to remember that you don’t need to be an expert to help someone. However there are a range of training courses available – ranging from one hour to two days – to help build confidence and effectiveness in suicide intervention.
Visit the training section of elament (www.elament.org.uk) for more details.
Help yourself
Some tricks to help you protect and improve your mental health:
- Connect with the people around you, family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in them.
- Be active. Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Discover something you enjoy and that suits your level of fitness.
- Take notice. Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends.
- Keep learning. Try something new. Rediscover an old interest.
Take on a different responsibility at work. Learning new things
will make you more confident as well as being fun.
- Give. Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger.
Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Look out, as well as in. Create connections with the people around you.
Help others.
Everyone needs help and support at times, never more so when stressed or down. Stigma and discrimination can add to this. To help someone:
- Stay connected – don’t let links drop just because the other person isn’t feeling up to socialising, going out, or chatting much.
It might seem like they don’t need you, but they do.
- Be yourself – you don’t have to be an expert to be a good friend to someone with mental ill-health. Just be there, listen, and show that you care.
- Remember, that the person who is ill might not feel or seem like themselves at the minute, but they are still the friend, colleague or family member they were before.
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