Radio Hauraki 'No Talk Day' raises awareness about men's mental health

Patua Te Taniwha Chairwoman Mataku-Ariki de Roo is using her loss to help raise awareness on suicide. Photo / Stephen Parker

Talking about mental health and wellbeing seems to be opening up as is the drive to show men it really is okay to talk. Yesterday,the Radio Hauraki team stayed silent in their No Talk Day initiative focused on men's mental health. This has brought to light the shocking male suicide rates, with more suspected male suicides than women in the city for the past 10 years.

Rotorua men are suspected of falling victim to suicide more than women every year.

The Radio Hauraki team stayed silent in their No Talk Day initiative which focused on men's mental health and encouraged others to speak up about mental illness.

The Coroner's annual provisional suicide statistics found Rotorua men made up two-thirds of the suspected suicides in the provisional suicide statistics between January 2018 to March of this year.

Of the 10 men, four were aged between 20 and 29, three between 30 and 39, two between 50 and 59 and one was in his early 70s.

Data for the past 10 years show the number of men suspected to have committed suicide were more represented in the provisional stats.

National information released last August found 30 people died by suicide in the Bay of Plenty in the 2017/18 year. This made up the 668 people across the country.

Patua Te Taniwha - Fight the monster - is a Rotorua charitable trust set up to support whānau affected by suicide.

Chairwoman Mataku-Ariki de Roo lost her father to suicide, shaping her passion in raising awareness about suicide.

"It's common for men not to talk about their emotions and thoughts ... so knowing the signs of suicide is vital in arming whānau with the knowledge and tools to help," she said.

She said whānau who lost someone to suicide were affected with the lifelong trauma of suicide grief.

She said suicide grief was ongoing and brought on a range of emotions from shock to sadness, to guilt and unworthiness.

"It is important for men to speak about mental health, as it could help save their life or another man's life," she said.

The Hits Rotorua announcer Paul Hickey says it's important to not wait for the "warning signs" of suicide because there sometimes weren't any. Photo / File

She said men did not realise that opening up helped release the pressure of what they were going through.

And this worked as a double positive as loved ones could step in, listen, support, and guide them to available help.

The Hits Rotorua radio host Paul Hickey said the No Talk Day initiative was about supporting your mates and always checking on each other with genuine feelings.

"And not waiting for any of the so-called warning signs, because they are not always there," he said.

"While we've got the well-known public role models speaking out now, it's important that our true role models of family and friends follow the lead," he said.

Where to get help

If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call 111.

If you need to talk to someone, the following free helplines operate 24/7:

DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757
LIFELINE: 0800 543 354
NEED TO TALK? Call or text 1737
SAMARITANS: 0800 726 666
YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633 or text 234

There are lots of places to get support. For others, click here.​