Photos of coasters that deliver messages about men’s mental health are making quite an impact.
The photos were posted on Twitter, and have been getting a lot of attention, because the messages are hitting home for a lot of people.
“These beer mats are so needed,” the user wrote. “It’s time to talk about men’s mental health.”
Two different messages are featured on the coasters. One reads “Is there a mate missing around this table? Reach out to him.” The other says, “If your mate’s acting differently it could be a sign of a mental health problem: Reach out to him, be yourself, do what you love together.”
The coasters are part of a campaign called In Your Mate’s Corner. It’s a five year campaign from Time to Change, a social movement that aims to change how people think about mental health.
The group is based in England since 2007, but the news about this particular campaign has been widespread.
The campaign include a short feature film that brings awareness to the issue by featuring three heroic, but regular guys who are in a mate’s corner when he really needs them.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, the most at risk group for suicide is men in their 40s and 50s. Men in their 80s have the highest rate of suicide.
While women are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide than men, men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women.
Men tend to use more immediately lethal means and are much less likely to reach out for help. According to CMHA, about 4,000 people die from suicide each year. The latest statistics revealed that in Canada, 75% of those who died by suicide were male.
The provincial crisis hotline for B.C. is 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433). For crisis resources in your area, click here.
