Suffolk Mind releases video to highlight men’s mental health during Men’s Health Week

Suffolk Mind has released a video of four men who live and work in Suffolk talking about their own mental health during Men’s Health Week (10-16 June).

BBC Radio Suffolk presenter, Wayne Bavin, Suffolk Mind CEO, Jon Neal, Suffolk Mind volunteer Lambert Dangmaa and Suffolk Food Hall Butchery Supervisor and Suffolk Mind fundraiser, Craig Bullard have all spoken openly about their own experiences in the three minute video to highlight the importance of men’s mental health.

Craig Bullard said: “I feel men’s health is a subject that isn’t spoken of enough in the country let alone the county. I’ve had some help from Suffolk Mind before but not to the extent that others have. I think it’s important to have the opportunity to speak to someone as it can have a bigger influence than people believe.

“I’m proud to be from Suffolk and a proud dad and so I want our county to be the best it can be for talking about and taking care of mental health right now and for our future generations.”

Men’s Health Week is run by The Men’s Health Forum and this year the focus is men’s health by numbers. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK and 3 out of 4 suicides are by men (1). In Suffolk in 2017, 61 people took their own life through suicide (2).

Jon Neal said: “All too often, men’s mental health campaigns focus on encouraging men to talk. That can certainly help, but some men, and women for that matter, just don’t want to talk about their feelings.

“So instead, we try to educate everyone about the emotional needs we all have that must be met in order to stay well. Stress is nature’s way of telling us a need is not being met. If we know that, we can spot the first signs of stress in ourselves and those around us and then identify the unmet need and hopefully figure out a way to get that need met.

“By making this video, we want to highlight that everyone has mental health, just as we have physical health. And we can all look after our mental health better, if we can spot the signs of stress.”