Chris Bould

[Stan Collymore @StanCollymore]

Suicide.

I'm choosing to be deliberately blunt and provocative in this post because it's necessary. Government, charities, football clubs are all pushing water up a hill in highlighting what is undoubtedly a major health crisis.

You take a rope.
You put it up in a garage or a tree nearby or far away.
You're thinking about every loved one you'll leave behind as you put that rope around your neck.
Then you drop.

Some are decapitated.
Some aren't.
All are found by someone who has a lifetime of trauma that will never leave them.
A son.
A daughter.
A brother.
A sister.
A mother.
A father.

I know 2 men who hung themselves.

One was found by his Mom.
One was found by his brother.
Neither have recovered fully. 20 and 30 years on.

A life sentence for people who were already worrying, terrified their loved one may do something.

So just visualise the above and ask, "is there another way"?

A segway for a moment.

I do a few Q&A's every year. Tales of yesterday with a 99% male audience of my age group.

After the stories and fun, my last question back to the audience is..

"Hands up if you struggle with a mental health issue".

Nobody ever puts a hand up. Despite 1 in every 3 of 500 attendees statistically struggling.

"Ah, nobody, that's fucking brilliant! Well I do! ". I then graphically tell people, stunned into silence about how a rope around my neck in the middle of nowhere jolted me to go home and cry like a baby to my Mom.

After the Q&A has finished, something always happens. I'll be chatting to a few guys, saying bye and one by one, men will come over and whisper " I struggle".

Or my mailbox the next day will have 30 emails from guys, their partners or kids saying " Dad/Uncle /Brother was there last night and what you said hit them hard".

And that's how some people realise that it's time to speak to a pal or family member or even rant to me in an email. It works, I often get a follow up email a year or 6 later saying that they took responsibility for their suicidal feelings and are now flying.

Humans are programmed to want to live, to have families and to keep the species growing and thriving. So for a human to want to short circuit that desire isn't normal, and it should never be spoken of as normal. It's the ultimate red flag.

If you suspect your mate, Dad, Brother, Uncle is struggling mentally, they deserve your intervention.

They deserve a " are you OK, please tell me what's up".

They deserve an opportunity to get past wanting to hang a rope over a tree or in a garage and slowly struggle until they die and you find them.

If you've been there and trust me I have plenty, then you'll know that text out of the blue, or a footie mate or one of your kids asking jow you are can open the curtains to some sunshine.

Because when suicide is your only answer, the room is already dark, and you can't see a way out.

So please, fucking pretty please, ask that husband, Dad, Uncle, Cousin, footie pal TODAY how they are.

You may be shocked what comes back but extremely glad that you asked.

For those who struggle, you're not alone.

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

GB News has said that no-one cares what Carol Vorderman has to say.

So here is a Poll.

If you listen to Vorders RT
If you listen to 'News' from the swamp Like

[Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 @JujuliaGrace]

Thank you so much to everyone who supported Carly! And thank you Carly for being amazing!

[SPORTbible @sportbible]

If you listen to anything today, listen to what Paddy Pimblett has to say.

A class message.

[The Labour Party @UKLabour]

Labour demands Tory MPs vote against keeping a guilty man in Downing Street.

Agree? Share this. 👇

[Cymrawes. 🐟 Re-VENGER. @cymrawes]

F Fabricunt smiling f while Keir Starmer related the tragic story of John Robinson to a silent house . Tweet it wide.

[Chris Bould @chrisbould77]

.@BorisJohnson and @rishisunak broke the law. They have to resign. #Partygate - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/dVSyHsEv9e via @UKChange

[Chris Bould @chrisbould77]

@Puggster Keep up the good work Alfie👍

[Chris Bould @chrisbould77]

@JohnBishop100 telling it as it is, no party politics, just the truth👍

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

It appears there are a lot of haters & trolls out there who would rather attack me for holding a sleazy, lying, law breaking Government to account then step up themselves. If I block you it’s not a badge of honour

[Jim Pickard 🐋 @PickardJE]

the Cummings blog on Boris Johnson & the customs union is quite an eye-opener

[David__Osland @David__Osland]

Message to the Welsh headmaster refusing school meals to children who are a penny in arrears; tell me where to send the money and I'll sponsor a hungry kid to eat for a month. RT if you'd do the same.

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

We now hear only nine applications for the UK Fuel Tanker HGV Scheme have been submitted

Here is Boris Johnson telling @BBCBreakfast viewers 127 applications had been made to the tanker driver scheme - not true

We have a desperate shortage of 100,000!

[Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov]

A reminder that when Boris Johnson was asked about his own £250,000 a year second job with the Telegraph, he dismissed the payments as "chicken feed."

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Sajid Javid said that if MPs cannot have second jobs, they will leave.

I’m happy to swap every MP who wants a second job, for MPs who want to focus only on their constituents eg Caroline Lucas.

Anyone else?

[Clive Hallam 🇪🇺🇬🇧Proud European 💉💉💉 @challam19]

Apparently there are “a lot” of MPs who would leave politics if they couldn’t have a second job. I anticipate the majority of them are people who the UK can really do without as politicians

[Angela Rayner @AngelaRayner]

Deloitte consultants were paid £6,000 a day and the company charged the taxpayer £1 million per day in fees for their work on failed Test and Trace.

Now Ministers have given Deloitte another contract preparing the "strategy" for the public inquiry. Cancel this contract now.

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

This is the film referenced by @campbellclaret on @bbcquestiontime tonight which despite an almost complete media blackout is now a whisker away from 40 MILLION VIEWS. Johnsons House of Cards is finally starting to wobble. Let’s keep going!

[Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 @JujuliaGrace]

I get told frequently by Conservative MPs that the public aren’t bothered about private companies running NHS services and making a profit.

I don’t think this is correct. If you would like profit-making to be removed from the NHS, pls RT.

Let’s see!

[Laurie Dalrymple @LaurieDalrymple]

“Nuno had a dream, to build a football team”. Nothing but love and respect for this man and everything he’s achieved. He rebooted a football club and brought together a whole city. What a remarkable achievement, from a remarkable person. Sing his name loudly today! 🙌