A reminder to stay in touch for Time to Talk Day this month
Thursday, 5 February is Time to Talk Day, the nation's biggest mental health conversation. It's a day for people to come together to talk, listen and change lives. With that in mind, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and Suffolk User Forum (SUF) are promoting their shared resources to help get those conversations going.
Talking is power - the power to help someone in crisis, the power to make a difference in someone's life, the power to make people feel they are not alone.
Time to Talk Day, run by mental health charity Mind, is a chance to reinforce that message whether it's a text asking a friend how they are doing, a post on social media, a walk with a neighbour or a cup of tea and a chat with a colleague.
Part of talking is, of course, listening so NSFT and SUF are using this awareness day to remind people of their shared resources to help these conversations.
The LISTEN project was a collaboration between service users and clinicians in east Suffolk to further improve care available to people reaching crisis point.
The resources aim to help mental health staff and organisations working with someone in a high state of distress, possibly suicidal.
The project saw people with first-hand experience of NSFT services work alongside clinical staff to develop posters and credit-card size reminders with the acronym LISTEN:
· Listen and look
· Involve and inform
· Share understanding
· Time and availability
· Empathise, encourage and evaluate
· Next steps in treatment
SUF also created a video to explore ways of managing suicidal thoughts and feelings, providing a step-by-step process for helping others connect with someone in distress.
Jayne Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of SUF, said: Since its launch, LISTEN has been widely praised and actively promoted across Suffolk and at a national level. It has quickly become a trusted, go-to resource for sharing the Six Easy Steps for Suicide Prevention across public health, NSFT, and the voluntary sector.
The LISTEN video brings together professional mental health expertise with the powerful insight of people with lived experience. This combination makes it a compelling tool that encourages open conversations, deepens understanding, and ultimately helps save lives by supporting those experiencing suicidal thoughts and emotional distress.
NSFT deputy CEO and Chief Patient Officer Cath Byford said the importance of talking to people, whether that was someone going through the same experiences or a friend or relative or someone you might be worried about, could not be underestimated. Just checking in on someone could make a huge difference as we see in the video. A kind word, an offer of help or just the chance to have a laugh with someone can work wonders. So take time on the 5th to connect, in whatever form that may be.
To watch the animated video please visit You Tube and search LISTEN or click here. You can read more about LISTEN and download a poster on NSFT's website at nsft.nhs.uk/listen.