Advice, guides & articles

World Suicide Prevention Day has taken place annually on 10th September since 2003 to encourage the world to take action to prevent suicides, and create a world where fewer people die by suicide. Over 70 suicide prevention and mental health groups campaign together under the National Suicide Prevention Alliance to show that suicide is preventable, not inevitable. It’s estimated that 703,000 people die by suicide worldwide every year. In 2019, over 1 in 100 deaths were the result of suicide, with the rate being twice as high for men than women. The theme is still “Creating Hope Through Action”, and will remain the same until 2023, with the aim to empower people with the confidence to see there is always hope, and raise awareness on how to support each other better. One of the main goals is encouraging governments in the UK and Ireland to make suicide prevention a priority.

Everybody has Mental Health. In fact, Mental Health is Health. These are not just quotable slogans to stick on the side of a bus top and assume that the job is done, these need to be the way that everybody thinks in order to move away from the stigma that is commonly associated with mental health issues. Here on the Funeral Notices blog we like to try and talk about mental health in an open and honest way, and we thought we could share five other great blogs that do just that.

It can be difficult to know what to do to help a friend or family member who is struggling with their grief. Everyone grieves differently, and will need different things to help them through. Here are a few ideas for how to help someone who is grieving.

Disabilities occur in many different forms. Some people will experience a disability that is outwardly visible to others, whilst others will experience a disability that has no, or little, outward visible signs. These are categorised as non-visible disabilities. As a sufferer of Inflammatory Bowel Disease for many years, I understand first hand how hard everyday life can be, even if you appear completely healthy on the outside.

Like the rest of your body, it’s important to regularly exercise your brain to improve function and keep it healthy. Regularly stimulating your brain can help improve memory, focus, problem solving skills, and how quickly we process information. There are many different things you can do to help strengthen your brain, here are our top 5. Puzzles Doing puzzles regularly can help to stimulate your brain by improving memory, logic skills, helping you develop problem solving skills as well as being a fun way to pass the time. This includes sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, and many more. Learn a language Studies have shown that bilingual people have increased brain function compared to those who only speak one language. Learning a new language is a skill you can pick up at any age, and helps to improve memory function and verbal skills, as well as increasing the ability to multitask. Write a daily journal Writing a journal entry every day can help you to organise your thoughts, manage your emotions and boost your memory. Regular journalling can also help you to reduce stress, improve your writing and communication skills, and help you to achieve goals and solve problems more easily.

While browsing the Most Read This Month section here on funeral-notices.co.uk, I came across a notice for Karren Bolger that has had over 5,000 visitors and has a collection of over £1,600 raised for the Lindsey Lodge Hospice in her memory. When I see such a great collection being raised it makes me wonder what the charity does and where the money will be going, so I thought I would share a little about the hospice in this month's charity spotlight blog.

For many people, working from home is the new normal due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This is a huge adjustment for those of us used to working in an office environment. Suddenly we’re at home on our own, doing a job we’re used to doing surrounded by co-workers. While there are many benefits to working from home, it can also take its toll. It’s important to maintain your mental health when working from home, here are some tips to help you.

It will come as no surprise to learn that most grandparents feel happier spending time with their grandchildren. However, it is more than just a good feeling as it can have huge benefits for their physical and psychological health, and the closer the bond, the stronger the benefits. The relationship between grandchildren and grandparents is mutually beneficial. Grandparents impart wisdom to their grandchildren and studies have shown that grandchildren also provide health benefits to their grandparents.

Escapism, which is the act of avoiding unpleasant aspects of everyday life, often by escaping into a fantasy world, is something we’re all guilty of from time to time. It can be a coping method for dealing with stress and anxiety, but is it good for our mental health?

The latest in our Meet the Team series sees us sit down with Customer Advisor Dorothy Hermann. As part of Reach Plc, funeral-notices.co.uk have been publishing notices in local newspapers for over 100 years. Dorothy Hermann has been part of the team for more than 18 years. Dorothy currently works on the Funeral Notices team. Prior to this role Dorothy was part of a team working in the reception of the Hull Daily Mail office in Hull city centre, joining the Funeral Notices team in 2019. Outside of work Dorothy loves gardening, animals and being outdoors.