Priorities

Running a Mental Health First Aid course today; on one level it's an easy day, on a lot of others it's a tough tough gig, everyone has a story to tell, many of them heartbreaking. It's humbling, inspiring and upsetting in equal measure.

1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental health issue every year. If this was any other health issue, if one in four people got, say, cancer, every year then I reckon we'd have found a cure a long time ago. But mental health remains largely invisible, mostly ignored, seldom discussed. Suicide is the largest killer of young men in the UK, it's most prevalent amongst 44-49 year old men but it crosses all social boundaries. In 2017 we lost 5821 people to an utterly sorrowful and wholly preventable tragedy. Somehow, somewhere our priorities seem very wrong.

Today we made a tiny step. Six more people who are prepared to notice, who won't look away, who are ready to start a conversation.

Philosophy Friday
When I was five years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life.
John Lennon.