What does suicide prevention mean to you? 

Reflecting with our community in suicide prevention month, September 2026 

Please note: this post discusses the topic of suicide and mental health

Suicide is a largely spoken about topic and although people feel like it’s accepted as a topic to openly speak about, I feel that there’s still so much stigma around it. A lot of the time when we think of the topic or see it spoken about, it’s a big news headline, or a social media post that doesn’t feel as genuine as it appears, because, when we talk about suicide in real life situations, a large majority of people don’t know how to talk about it. 

A lot of people don’t know what to say to things such as “I’m not feeling like I want to be here anymore”. A lot of the time it’s met with “but you have so much to live for” or “but think of your family if you did that”, this isn’t the best way to deal with someone who is having suicidal thoughts, so I decided to talk to people in esteem and ask people who have been through different situations and all walks of life, ‘what does suicide prevention mean to you?’

The first person I spoke to was a transgender individual, who told me that trans people are more likely to have suicidal ideation and end their lives than the general population. This tied in with healthcare for trans people and how important it is for trans people to be able to access it. We spoke about the recent situation in Wales, where all gender reassignment surgeries were put on hold and cancelled, some with the people in the hospital ready for their surgery. This was heartbreaking for the people that were finally going to feel at home in their own bodies, and people were left distraught with the news they received.

Trans healthcare is suicide prevention, allowing people to access recourses to feel at home in themselves is suicide prevention. 

1 in 6 people have had thoughts about suicide at some point in their lives and 84% of transgender individuals have considered suicide. To this person, suicide prevention is normalising talking about it and not letting it be a secret that people have to hide.

Another person I spoke to felt that suicide prevention is supporting someone to feel that they are worthy of being alive and seeing the opportunities that can come if they do stay. A lot of the time, suicidal people feel trapped, they can’t see beyond their feelings, or beyond the current life they are living, showing them that there is life beyond challenging moments can change the way they think, and how they want to move forward with their lives.

Something that was brought up in one of the conversations, was how harmful the phrase “suicide is selfish” can be. Unfortunately, a lot of people have this opinion. It’s such a harsh thing to say to people who can’t see their lives going on, and to me, this is what people say when they have 1% of the picture of what it’s like to live with suicidal thoughts. It’s not a decision that is made without thinking of family, or friends. Often, people feel it’s beneficial, that they won’t be a burden anymore. Instead of telling someone who is suicidal harsh and outdated opinions, ask questions, keep them talking, let them open up without shutting them down. Making mistakes is normal, we can’t always know what the right thing to say is, which is why knowledge and understanding of why people feel this way is so important to prevent people ending their lives. 

A phrase that stood out to me was the sense of a ‘black creeping in’, that feeling of dread that closes you in more and more until you can’t take it anymore leading to split second decisions. Helping people find a light in that darkness and helping them climb out of it can really make people feel like they matter, that they are being seen and not judged, that they are being uplifted. Bottling up our feelings because we feel we are being an inconvenience is so dangerous, but being an “inconvenience” can save your life. You never realise how much you’re bottling up until you let it out, and most of the time, you come out of it feeling so much lighter because you were acknowledged and heard. 

No one should feel like a burden, which again, is why community and acceptance is a huge thing when it comes to preventing suicide. 

One person I spoke to talked about this video, which shows two men over different seasons going to football games. Please pause here and give it a watch. 

One of the men seems to be the person you may think is depressed or going through a hard time, he’s more mellow, less talkative and less energetic. The other man is more energetic, asks the other man questions and is always checking if he’s okay. you’d think he’s the happy one in this situation. The frame then cuts to the more mellow man sitting down, and the guy who seemed so happy, isn’t there anymore. This video is so powerful in showing that you never know who could be going through a hard time and that it’s so important to check on the people around you, whether they seem happy or not. 

Small gestures that other people might not notice are also something to be mindful of. Sometimes we don’t realise that something as simple as opening a door or saying please and thank you can change the outcome of someone’s day. You really never know how much someone is carrying, sometimes one gesture or one phrase can take someone’s day from terrible to more tolerable, from bad to good, from good to amazing,

When the topic of suicide does come up, and people do decide to talk about it, you realise how many people have been affected by it, people’s husbands, children, wives, brothers and sisters, such a wide variety of people, and so many people don’t talk about it, they keep moving on with their lives without ever saying anything, it’s so harmful and potentially dangerous to keep such upsetting things to yourself. 

Sharing stories, sharing thoughts, opening the room to such conversations, that is suicide prevention, because yes it’s a subject that is treated with sensitivity as it should be, but there is a difference between treading lightly and not talking about it at all. A lot of the times I have heard that it’s too depressing to talk about, how can we prevent suicides if it’s a topic that’s shut away? 

It’s hard when topics of suicide are shut down, if you know that you’re feeling suicidal, and you see other people shutting down the topic even if it’s not about your personal feelings, you won’t feel encouraged to talk about it because you might be scared of being shut down too.

Another thing that I’d like to mention, is early intervention when people with suicidal thoughts seek help with mental health services, in the uk, mental health services aren’t very accessible to people who aren’t extremely dangerous to themselves or others, meaning they can’t get early help to prevent becoming more mentally unwell. More often than not, you won’t receive help unless you’re in an extreme crisis situation. I hope this changes, and that  more effort is put into early intervention, but even if you don’t feel heard when it comes to the hospital or the gp, advocating and making them hear you can make a huge difference, and if you have knowledge, sharing it with others too can make them feel more at ease in the healthcare system knowing that they are well informed and therefore can advocate for themselves. 

People from all walks of life, all financial situations, all ages deserve to access mental

Health care and services because it saves lives when accessed early. Waiting lists are long, and because of that, sometimes it’s too late, and by the time it comes someone’s turn to finally get help, they won’t be there to receive it.

Suicide prevention month is about spreading awareness and knowledge and in doing so, hopefully preventing such a tragic thing from happening, however, suicide prevention isn’t just in September, it should be every month, it should be spoken about every single month of the year. 

We raise awareness in September, but what happens after that? Suddenly it feels like we don’t really hear about the topic much, we don’t need performative prevention, we need actual prevention.

suicide prevention isn’t just one thing, it’s every single thing that was said by the people who I spoke to. It’s not linear, it’s not a one way road and we all need to take different measures to help our mental health. 

I asked everyone one more question after they told me what suicide prevention means to them, ‘what’s a small thing that keeps you going?’ 

Here is every answer:

Finding small reasons to keep going, whether that be to see your favourite show every night, or eating your favourite meal, is something that should be held on to, every reason is the right reason. 

If you are having suicidal thoughts and want to seek help, resources, or someone to talk to, these are some links and phone numbers to use:

Samaritans 116123 available 24/7 www.samaritans.org 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_to_Stay_Alive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_to_Stay_Alive

Childline (anyone under 19)  08001111 https://childine.org.uk

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/ 

Emergency services: 999