Paul Carter

Suicide and men. New suicide figures have been published by @ONS: 5,738 suicides were registered for England in 2025. 75% were in men. 1 in 65 men die by suicide. Sometimes when I'm invited to talk about mental health, I ask a question at the end. "How many of you (mixed crowd) struggle with mental health issues?". Maybe one or two in a room of a couple of hundred. Then when everyone leaves, often 10-20 guys will come over and say "I do". Men still have a problem opening up about their mental health, all ages, because the message society still sends is, "it's weakness". October, for some reason is the worst month of the year for me. I go from running 20kph and flying through summer ( well, better than October) to what I can only describe is a descent into every mental health stereotype. Anxiety Fear No energy ( chronic) Hypersomnia ( 28 hours isn't uncommon) Insomnia Suicidal ideation And then the voice pops up. "You could end this here and now ". It's really difficult to explain to anyone who's never had suicidal ideation what it exactly is. Because I run and keep fit I "know" my fitness will pull me through, but many are stuck in a cycle. Maybe use food or alcohol to look for a dopamine hit ( serious mental health issues literally take away your ability to feel anything, an omnipresent numbness), maybe drugs, maybe exercise, maybe work, many even cut themselves to try to feel something. In that context, saying" I'll end it here and now " becomes a relief. It's certainly no cry for help because you've mostly already tried everything and still the black dog comes. Right now I'm at the gym, forced myself to push through but I know a 28 hour sleep may be incoming and that "why don't you..." voice starts to get louder. I've put this out there over 20 years on here so thus isn't for any purpose other than to show that someone who's in the top 1% of health and fitness is as prone to this quite frightening drop off, seemingly from nowhere, so if this is you, you have that voice, then know it's an illness that strikes many, and unfortunately takes a few along the way. I'm lucky, many took the literal leap because the fear is all consuming. There us help, lots of charities I here @MindBodySoleUK @MindCharity @CharitySANE are but a few. But those stats at the top are sobering, and are holding steady. If someone you know is struggling or you think they are, please reach out to them. If you are struggling, please reach out to friends and family.