When is it too late to talk about suicide?

Yesterday I spoke with a human resources manager for a very large organisation. They had come to me looking for mental health training for their staff as, recently, they had one of their team die by suicide. This is a very confronting issue for everyone, and he expressed remorse for not taking action sooner.

My response – it’s never too late to start the journey towards better understanding the issues surrounding mental health.


While totally tragic that they had lost a team member, learning about suicide, even after the fact, is imperative. We need to start the discussion about suicide as this is the best way to remove the stigma around it.

In the workplace, in the community and within our families, we need to not be afraid of having sensitive conversations, about asking a direct question and about being aware of possible signs that someone around us is struggling.
I am a Mental Health First Aid Trainer and while the syllabus covers many important topics, the information and skills about suicide, in my mind, are the most important. I strangely get a sense of satisfaction knowing that I may have armed another member of our community with the tools to help prevent another tragedy.

If you are reading this and want to make a difference then my suggestion to you, go out and enroll in a Mental Health First Aid course today - take action.

Contact Thrive in Work for more details on how to investigate your business and how you can put mental health on the front page of your workplace culture, becoming a great place to work is not just a nice idea, it makes financial and legal sense.