There’s a lot of good things about living and working outside Australia’s bigger towns and cities, but it also has its unique challenges. Fewer services, isolation and extreme weather events are just a few of the things that can be harder to deal with out here.
R U OK?, in collaboration with Professor Nicholas Procter and the team at UniSA’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research Group, has released the revised Mateship Manual. The free manual is designed to provide guidance on how to support someone affected by a natural disaster or emergency, and why it’s important to reach out to family, friends and colleagues to ask, “are you okay?”
The Mateship Manual combines lived experience and trauma lessons with research and clinical expertise to provide guidance on how to have tough conversations if someone is struggling.
If someone you know – a family member, friend, neighbour or workmate – is doing it tough, they won’t always tell you. Sometimes it’s up to us to trust our gut instinct and ask someone who may be struggling with life “are you ok?” By asking and listening, we can help our mates and others we care about feel more supported and connected long before they even think about suicide. It’s something we can all do by following a few simple steps.
For more resources, or to order a free hard copy of the Mateship Manual, check out the R U OK? website.
