Mental health talk can be 'normal as blood test'

Lisa Pearson said thinking about people's mental health was "everyone's responsibility"

A suicide prevention worker said conversations about mental health should be as normal as "getting your blood pressure checked".

Lisa Pearson, from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), is taking part in BBC Radio Northampton's Headfest well-being event on Friday.

She said it was "everybody's responsibility" to be thinking about mental health, adding that people did not need to be qualified professionals to ask someone if they were OK.

Government figures showed there were 6,069 suicides in England and Wales in 2023, compared to 5,642 the year before.

Three-quarters of those who died were men - a proportion that has remained broadly similar for several years.

As NHFT's suicide prevention lead, Ms Pearson said she was passionate about turning people away from suicide by "talking about it, using the word".

Lisa Pearson took a sofa around the county to encourage people to chat and "break the stigma of suicide"

Ms Pearson said research was going on to find out why the figures continued to go up, but everyone could play a part in bringing them down.

"We don't think about the fact that it can impact on everybody," she said.

"It doesn't matter what your background is, what your social class is and we know that, particularly for men, we're not still sure why those numbers are so high.

"There's the myth that men don't talk, but actually they do."

Ms Pearson was delighted to see many men taking part in groups designed to provide a supportive atmosphere, such as Men's Sheds.

Lisa Pearson said activities like Men's Sheds "seem to be really powerful"

She said: "Men-led groups seem to be really powerful and they talk a lot about involvement with the Saints or Northampton Town Football Club - they've really got a lot of work going on around trying to get men to just talk about their well-being and have that camaraderie.

"We would say the most important thing is that you ask, so if you are worried about anybody, you ask the question.

"You don't need to be a psychologist or a mental health worker to ask someone if they're OK."

Headfest takes place at the University of Northampton on 25 October from 10:00 to 15:00 BST.

A wide range of advice will be available, alongside crafts such as crocheting and origami.