{"id":190,"date":"2021-01-20T17:03:52","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T17:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/?p=190"},"modified":"2021-12-12T21:25:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T21:25:50","slug":"small-talk-saves-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/small-talk-saves-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Small talk saves lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the best way to show people who are having a tough time that they are not alone? How could small conversations save lives? Where can you get support if you are feeling down?<\/em><\/p>\n

With seemingly endless COVID-19 lockdowns, travel and socialisation restrictions, as well as major changes in our daily routine, mental health has become an ever present topic for discussion across the world over the last year. However, not everyone knows an answer to an essential question raised quite often \u2013 how to support somebody who is experiencing a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

This question and many others were covered during a remarkable Different Conversation podcast \u201cHow to talk about Suicide?\u201d with Dr Jay-Marie Mackenzie, whose research interests lie primarily in understanding how important environmental context is in the prevention of suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing is that sometimes we shy away from these conversations, because they are difficult to have, or they are perceived to be difficult to have\u201d, said Dr Mackenzie. \u201cActually, having that dialogue and having an open discussion around this can help people to come forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the conversation, we had a chance to learn about how we could potentially help someone, why the message \u201cyou are not alone\u201d is so powerful, and whether there is anything that would be better to avoid in a dialog with a person who is having a personal crisis. The podcast covered a range of topics which varied from positives of dealing with lockdown caused by COVID-19 to incredible projects Dr Mackenzie has been involved with. As part of a multi-University project and in collaboration with Network Rail, one of her projects led to changes in how the rail industry aims to prevents suicides on railways. It also led to the development of the successful \u201csmall talk saves lives\u201d<\/a> campaign\u00a0.<\/p>\n