Reframing Strength as a path to Suicide Mitigation
Suicide is the leading cause of death in men under the age of 50 and has affected several men I have known over recent months. For 18 of the last 20 years suicide was the leading cause of death for both males (27%) and females (17%) aged 20 to 34 in the UK. As I sat on the sofa this evening watching Frozen 2 with our youngest son, something made me reflect on the importance of what we are teaching our children about what is means to be strong. The film is a sequel that tells a story of two sisters who embark on a journey together, end up seperated, and conquer the odds independently before becoming reunited. We watched as the first sister faced traversing a stormy sea that had taken the life of her parents. 'Look how strong she is' I said to him. ' Look how the wave smashes her and she keeps going'. 'Look how strong she is' I continued, 'see how even though she is afraid of the threats facing her, she assesses them, tackles them and keeps going. S