1. Today I asked a group of women in Hydebank what advice they would give to us, as we face into a few of weeks of restrictions on our freedoms.
The answers - we need to get on with it. There’s nothing we can do about it. Make the best of it.
2. What helps them cope? the simple things, kindness, being treated with respect, as human, being able to put on lipstick & your own clothes.
Some have been unable to see their families in person since March. Screens aren’t the same for children...
3. It’s easy to dwell on what we can’t do, but in order to survive this we must focus on what we can do & what we have. Make a plan, try to be grateful, connect with others & ask for help if you need it.
4. I will continue to highlight the mental health implications, the need for mental health & crisis services, and the importance of those financial packages.
2. Those included drug-related deaths and the Coroner and NISRA analysed these deaths in detail last year. It was decided that the majority of those deaths were not probable suicides, and were more likely to be accidents.
3. When those deaths were taken out of our suicide rate last year, the number went down substantially (197), compared with previous years (where the figures were around 300). A similar process is being undertaken for 2015-18, it is likely that this will show a similar reduction.