Check in on your people

Content note: Suicide and mental health

Today is World Mental Health Day.

Norwich City's "You Are Not Alone" campaign showed up on my TikTok For You Page again recently. I'd seen it before. It still gets me.

Two football fans. One quiet, the other cheerful and chatty. You assume the quiet man is struggling. But it's the cheerful man who dies by suicide.

It reminded me of a poster from the German Depression Aid Foundation. A man sits on a train looking withdrawn, and you assume he's the one struggling. Then the text points to the smiling passenger behind him: "Das ist Steffen." Steffen is the one living with depression.

Both campaigns let you form a first impression, then quietly take it apart. That's why they stay with you.

For me, the message is personal.

Johannes was my neighbour in Montreal, a German exchange student. We became friends and found out we shared the exact same birthday, year included. Naturally, I called him my twin.

He was such a sweet, funny guy.

In September 2021, the day after our birthday, Johannes died by suicide. Five years later, I still think about him.

Working in content and community, I appreciate campaigns that do more than grab attention. The best ones change how we see each other.

But the conversation can't end when the campaign does. Men need space to talk about their mental health without judgement, and real access to support when they do.

Check in on your people. Especially the ones who always seem fine.

Norwich City campaign: https://lnkd.in/dMKki5NH