A new mental health campaign is causing quite a stir in pubs across the UK, and for good reason.
Photos of beer coasters emphasising the importance of discussing men’s mental health have gone viral after they were uploaded to Twitter last month. User, Adam O’Malley posted the pics praising the coasters and encouraged more men to start a conversation around mental illness.
In the post, O’Malley wrote, “These beer mats are SO needed. Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 49, killing three times as many British men as women. It’s time to talk about mental health!”
(Images via Twitter)
Some 70,00 likes later, the message seems to be resonating.
The coasters are part of British organisation Time To Change’s ‘Be In Your Mate’s Corner’ campaign, which has been running since last February. The campaign aims to reach men in places that they feel comfortable and encourage them to open up about their feelings and start a discussion about their mental well-being.
The move has been widely praised for its creative use of advertising and highlights the role community spaces play in promoting positive change.
“This is brilliant,” one Twitter user commented. “Pubs can be a great place in communities for people to come together.”
In recent times, there has been an enormous push for positive change on the men’s mental health front, with new figures showing that 84 men take their own lives every week in the UK. Back home, the statistics paint a similarly dire snapshot, with 6 out of 8 suicides in Australia occuring being men.
Initiatives like Time To Change’s ‘Be In Your Mate’s Corner’ campaign shine a light on the importance of looking out for your mates and asking if they’re alright, something all Australians can get behind. Next time you raise a glass, just remember, it might be worth raising the question as well.
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