“Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.” Dale Carnegie

Today is World Mental Health day – an initiative supported by the World Health Organisation and others.

What is World Mental Health day focused on this year?

It’s a hard hitting one: Suicide (preventing it, obviously). “Come on, isn’t this a bit bleak and extreme?” 

Count to 40….

….someone has taken their own life.

Count to 40 again…someone else on the planet has just killed themselves.

Count to 40 again….you get the idea. Shockingly, every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide.

Do money worries cause people to commit suicide?

A survey commissioned by the NHS last year on Adult Psychiatric Morbidity showed:

• more than 100,000 people in debt attempt suicide each year; and
• people in problem debt are three times more likely to have considered suicide than people not in problem debt.

This is indeed bleak; suicide is 100% preventable.

To fight this suicidal statistic, the World Federation for Mental Health, the World Health Organisation, and us here at Ordo, would like you to take “40 seconds of action” today to:

• improve awareness of the significance of suicide as a global public health problem;
• improve knowledge of what can be done to prevent suicide;
• reduce the stigma associated with suicide; and
• let people who are struggling know that they are not alone.

So come on, let’s show our courage; some ideas for action from the people behind World Mental Health day, are:

• share this post, spread the word, talk about suicide and get this taboo blasted;
• if you’re struggling, take 40 seconds to kickstart a conversation with someone you trust about how you’re feeling;
• if you know someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, take 40 seconds to start a conversation and ask them how they’re doing;
• if you work or play in any media, highlight the 40-second statistic in interviews, articles and blogposts;
• if you work in the arts or on a digital platform, interrupt your production or broadcast to transmit a 40-second message about mental health or preventing suicide; or
• If you are an employer or manager, take 40 seconds to send a positive message of support to your employees about resources available in the workplace or local community in times of mental distress.

The Mental Health Foundation has produced an action acronym – WAIT – to help you have a short conversation with someone which could be the difference between life and death for them.

Even tfl were on-board this morning:

How can Ordo help?

Ordo is designed to help people feel in control and on top of their finances.

Money, bills and payments, whether as a consumer, business or both, can often be the cause of stress and anxiety and it’s exactly this wrinkle that we at Ordo are helping to iron out (we love a bit of ironing). Ordo is all about helping improve people’s sense of wellbeing when it comes to running their business and managing their payments, bills and finances, and that’s what we’re building our service to achieve. Have a look round our web site, see how Ordo could help you and sign up to be the first to hear about what we’re doing next.

Useful Links:

Mind.org

Samaritans

Moneyadvicetrust

ons.gov.uk

rehab-recovery.co.uk