SUICIDE SUPPORT HELPLINE

prevention Intervention and Awareness  (P.I.A)

During 2022, besides still working hard to reduce shame, stigma and silence around mental health and suicide, SOS are encouraging everyone to help drive compassion in society.

So what exactly is compassion?  How can we demonstrate it?  How can it help others?  How does it help us?

What is compassion?

The Cambridge Dictionary of compassion is showing sympathy and having a desire to help others during challenging times.

How Can We Demonstrate Compassion?

We can demonstrate compassion through acts and words of kindness, respect, love and understanding and also through the tone of our voice and body language.

Even if we are finding it difficult to talk, someone encouraging us with a reassuring voice, can help us to open up and feel safe with that person.

If we see that someone is upset, whether we know them or not, simply asking if they need help can make a huge difference to that person.

Where Covid allows, giving someone a hug to let them know you understand, can also make a difference to how someone else is feeling.

Being sensitive to the feelings and needs of others and taking time to really listen, are also ways of demonstrating compassion.

How Can It Help Others?

When people display compassion towards us, it makes us feel less isolated and alone.  It can help encourage others to open up and talk about what’s bothering them, without feeling like a burden.  Giving compassion to others also makes them feel valued and can improve how they perceive themselves.  Knowing that someone is listening and caring, can turn a dark day into a brighter day and give people hope.

How Can It Help Us?

Think about all the times you’ve given something to someone else.  It could be advice, a gift, a hug or something else.  Think about how good this makes you feel when you see their reaction.  Their smile, their happiness.  Their relief.  It’s a great feeling isn’t it, knowing your compassion has made such a difference to someone else.  Showing compassion makes everyone feel better and that’s why SOS Silence of Suicide have retained this theme for the second year in a row.

‘SOS is about building individual and collective resilience, empowering everyone to recognise their own self worth.  We aim to eradicate shame, stigma and silence that can inhibit necessary conversations around emotional illness and suicide’

‘Taking the time to ask someone how they are feeling could be the lifeline they have been needing’ (SOS Silence of Suicide)