Good morning everyone! This is our final day of Nightline Awareness Week, and can I say, what an amazing week it has been. Particularly last night, when we were in conversation with mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn.
The event was an amazing night full of laughter and not a few tears. Jonny and Neil told their story - of how Neil stopped Jonny from killing himself by simply going up to him and beginning to chat, and how, 6 years later, Jonny reached out to social media to try and find this man once again. They mentioned that it was two simple things that stopped Jonny: Neil saying that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and that he thought Jonny would be alright. It is an incredible story, and one that I think resonated with a lot of people in the audience.
There were also an amazing number of questions from the audience, including questions about how Nightline can ensure the mental wellbeing of their volunteers, and what we can do to help the people around us every day. Jonny and Neil chatted a lot about mental health education in schools, and how powerful self care tools such as mindfulness can be. They also emphasised the need for spaces for men, as suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 today.
If you're interested in learning more about Jonny and Neil's story, you can check out their documentary The Stranger on the Bridge. I'm definitely going to be watching it to learn more about their mental health campaigning, and their personal journeys.
This week we've really focused on the amazing things that self care can do - now it is up to you to ensure you're taking care of yourself to the best of your abilities, whether that be having a cheeky catnap of an afternoon, or re-connecting with an old friend.
As ever yours,
-Wendy
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