10/09/2026
Today is Su***de Prevention Day. 💛
At Not Everything Sucks, we believe in su***de prevention every day of the year.
Awareness has to be more than a post, a campaign or tick-box training. We see the real consequences of inadequate mental health support in Bedfordshire.
In 2025, 5,728 su***des were registered in England. But I also believe statistics around su***de loss don’t show the full picture.
I believe people can lose their lives to mental health in different ways. Sometimes a person’s mental health is not recognised, understood or supported until it’s too late.
This is why I personally use the phrase mental health related loss alongside talking about su***de - not instead of it.
What I wrote last year still feels just as relevant:
There seems to be a narrative that we have enough awareness of mental illness. That we’ve moved on from the days of ‘getting on with it’ and asylums.
But I fear awareness has become a tick-box exercise.
It’s okay to have a little anxiety or depression, as long as you don’t affect anyone else, don’t become ‘too much’ and don’t ‘drain’ taxpayers’ money or services.
It may not be called an asylum now, but some people in active crisis can still be met with systems that create more trauma.
And our NHS workforce matters. A healthier, better-supported workforce particularly within mental health services, would be better placed to utilise the resources we already have.
I’ll never forget a mental health nurse telling me: “It could one day be me, or anyone else working here. I’ve seen staff become patients.”
That has stayed with me.
Mental health hospitals for adults in Bedfordshire are also outdated and, in my view, not fit for purpose. We cannot keep asking staff to provide compassionate care in systems and environments that don’t adequately support them either.
When we talk about prevention, we need responsibility, collaboration and community.
Treat people with dignity. Listen. Check in. Make sure people have somewhere safe to go. Support the people providing the support.
Prevention isn’t just about stopping someone from dying. It’s about creating circumstances where people have a ge
