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Suicide prevention: a conversation

On average, 12 men take their lives in the UK everyday. This rate is three times higher than it is for women and middle-aged men (aged 45–49) are the age group most at risk.

Whilst the reasons for someone to take their own lives are multi-faceted and complex, an open and compassionate workplace culture can encourage colleagues to look out for each other and reach out to those who need help.

In this 60 minute workplace suicide workshop, we share the story of 39 year old James who took his own life in November 2019. In this talk, James’ friend, Andy (a mindfulness and wellness coach) interviews James’ brother, Will (a professional in the construction industry).

Will shares the events leading up to James’ death, his own immediate reaction and subsequent coping mechanisms. In discussion with Andy, Will also reflects on the possible factors that led to James die.

Both passionate about sharing James’ story in a bid to prevent further tragedies, together the duo discuss:

  • How suicide affects the family and friends
  • Different approaches to coping with the aftermath 
  • Why suicide is more common amongst men than women 
  • What can be done to support men’s mental health
  • How to open up conversations about suicide. 

As a professional in the construction industry (an industry which has a suicide rate three times higher than the national average), Will’s candid openness is particularly powerful.

Key outcomes:

  • Encouraging people to open up about their mental health
  • Reducing the stigma around talking about suicide
  • Signposting people to mental health support

Testimonials:

“Thank you very much, it was a great session & a real privilege to be able to run a talk on such a sensitive and taboo subject in order to drive greater awareness. I liked the dynamic between Andy and Will, which worked really well. 

I have never received so many questions from the audience. I loved how the conversation moved from sharing James story to practical advice.”

– Michaela, Amazon

You can book an online or in-person session here.

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Building resilience by letting go of control

In this podcast episode, Emma and I discuss our relationship with control. We admit at the start that we feel a bit nervous because it’s a topic that we’re both feeling challenged by at the moment.

Emma opens up about wanting to change the kind of work she offers but not knowing what it will look like yet. This means she’s decided to let go of her impulse to plan for the rest of the year, and trust that it will become clearer. She talks about how being in that state of uncertainty can feel very uncomfortable.

I share about some of the areas of my life in which I feel an urge to control and how hard it can be to let go of getting the result that I want when it comes to money, health and family.

We also discuss:

  • Why trying to control things often backfires, and we get the opposite of what we wanted

  • Approaches to letting go of trying to force the outcomes you want, so that you can open to unexpected positive results

  • How to discern when you’re making a decision out of anxiety

  • How to develop tolerance for being in uncertainty

  • Finding the balance between doing what you can to influence the result you want without being stressfully attached to the outcome

You can watch it on Youtube above or listen on Spotify.

 

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The hidden gifts of anger

When I first moved in with my partner, she said it was very unsettling that nothing seemed to irritate me. It absolutely did, I’d just spent my whole life learning to hide my anger using my old friend silent resentment 🙂 I particularly noticed how much of this went round in my mind when I was on silent meditation retreats. The same criticisms of other people replaying on a loop.

I often work with people who are at the opposite end of the spectrum – they frequently become aggressively angry with their partner or their children, and by the time they’re talking to me their relationships are at serious risk of breaking down. They’re often stuck in a cycle of losing their temper, apologising, feeling ashamed, and then subsequently losing their temper again.

But if silent resentment doesn’t feel good, and neither does expressing your anger to attack someone, what do we do with it? How do we handle anger skilfully?

That’s what I and relationship coach Emma Buggy discuss in this podcast.

You can listen to it on Spotify here.

If you’d like support in developing a positive relationship with anger, that creates more connection with yourself and those you care about rather than more disconnection, book a free 30-minute consultation here.