I'm privileged to meet and work with clients who let me into their lives, often at the very worst possible time. Never more so than when the someone close to them has died by suicide. I believe it's the toughest thing any one can go through.
Most painful are the questions that the person's death leaves, and the tendency to search for answers or even attribute blame. But answers may be impossible to find: so often, people who take their lives are loved and valued. Yet they are suffering a health crisis and are in deep pain that, from the outside, might bear little explanation. They are victims of depression, and no more to blame than anyone with a serious physical illness.
Men are particularly susceptible, and the stats on men and suicide in Britain are deeply concerning for what they say about our society, and for the pain that lies behind them.
James' Place is a charity that offers life-saving support to men in suicidal crisis. Find out more here. And if you're worried about someone, find out how they can help here.
Written in loving memory of Peter Lloyd Jones, my brilliant friend who died on 1 August 2022. You'll never be forgotten.