‘We need to be training taxi drivers, bar staff, hairdressers – people who will find out more about a person through a casual conversation than their friends will ever know.’ Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

From the Guardian: Jake Mills challenges the media and political leaders to change the way they talk about mental health and suicide in the U.K.

Money quote:

Let me make this clear. I am not famous, I am not trying to be famous. I am a normal lad who made mistakes, lived a lie, and eventually attempted to take my own life. I am just another statistic. Someone who suffered from an illness that took over my life and made me a person I didn’t recognise. There is absolutely nothing special or unique about me. Yet I am getting calls from people asking me to share my story. The fact that I am newsworthy, simply because I have spoken openly about the demons I was facing, makes me think that we are being greatly let down by society.

JT