Mental health charity Lancashire Mind's urgent appeal as one person dies by suicide nearly every fortnight on average in Burnley, Pendle, and the Ribble Valley

A mental health charity is urging people to normalise conversations about suicide as one person takes their own life nearly every fortnight on average in Burnley, Pendle, and the Ribble Valley, according to government data.
The NHS has urgent mental health helplines for people of all ages. You can call for: 24-hour advice and support for you, your child, your parent or someone you care for; help to speak to a mental health professional; and an assessment to help decide on the best course of care. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline to find your local NHS urgent mental health helpline.
(Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA)The NHS has urgent mental health helplines for people of all ages. You can call for: 24-hour advice and support for you, your child, your parent or someone you care for; help to speak to a mental health professional; and an assessment to help decide on the best course of care. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline to find your local NHS urgent mental health helpline.
(Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA)
The NHS has urgent mental health helplines for people of all ages. You can call for: 24-hour advice and support for you, your child, your parent or someone you care for; help to speak to a mental health professional; and an assessment to help decide on the best course of care. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline to find your local NHS urgent mental health helpline. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA)

With ONS figures revealing 67 people died by suicide in the area from 2019 to 2021, Lancashire Mind is calling on people to help make the subject less taboo by talking more openly about it.

Karen Arrowsmith, Lancashire Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing and Training Lead, said: “I think everybody lost to suicide is very sad. [The impact] ripples across family, friends, colleagues, and the community. The frequency, unfortunately, of death by suicide is not uncommon.

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“Everybody struggles at some point. It is a sad fact of reality. That is not to take away from individual pain at that moment."

Encouraging vulnerable people to reach out for help, Karen added: “We need to reduce the stigma around suicide so people can talk about it more openly. So that people are not afraid to talk about it.

“Not everybody who takes their own life wants to die. They want that pain inside to stop, to step away from it. They may feel that taking their own life is their only option, which is sad. It becomes like tunnel vision.

“If they are experiencing dark thoughts, they might not want to burden the person they love. It is a sad and dark place to be in. But people are not alone.”

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Lancashire Mind is looking for as many people as possible to become Orange Button-holders by undergoing fully funded specialised suicide prevention training. Anyone can sign up and learn how to talk with people who are suicidal and signpost them to professional support to keep them safe.

To sign up, contact [email protected] or visit https://www.lancashiremind.org.uk/

If you are at immediate risk of suicide, go to your nearest A&E or call 999.

If your situation is urgent but not an emergency: text SHOUT to 85258, ring Samaritans for free on 116 123, the 24/7 Mental Health Urgent Response Line on 0800 953 0110, or the PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, or email [email protected]