Mind Cymru is calling for support for the third sector to be prioritised in delivering on Wales’ strategy for preventing suicide and self-harm, as figures show men now account for more than three quarters of deaths by suspected suicide in Wales.
Welsh Government published the 10-year strategy in April, alongside data from Public Health Wales showing that 350 people die by suspected suicide in Wales each year, with 76% of those deaths in the year 2023-24 attributed to men.
Responding to the figures, and during Men’s Health Month, Mind Cymru is urging the Welsh Government to put community-based services, including those provided by local Minds in Wales, at the heart of plans to deliver on the strategy – and with the experiences of men like Aled Edwards in mind.
Aled, from Bangor, describes the period after he attempted suicide six weeks after the birth of his youngest child as the ‘hardest journey of my life’, after feelings of not being a good enough husband and father overwhelmed him.
Aled says: “I was up in the middle of the night with my wife, I was changing nappies every time she was breast feeding, I couldn’t have done anymore. But there was still something there that I just couldn’t put a finger on. So, I thought the best thing for everybody would be for me to eliminate the problem, which was myself.
“But with the love and support of my wife, my children, and a few close friends, I was able to reach out and finally get the help I needed. That’s when I was diagnosed with postnatal depression — something I didn’t even realise men could experience.
“I looked for somewhere I could go to talk openly about what I was going through, where men could sit together and share their experiences without fear or judgment. But there was nothing like that for dads.”
The number of men becoming depressed in the first year of fatherhood is double that of the general UK population, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). Aled has since launched his own social enterprise supporting mental health, postnatal depression and suicide prevention in men to help bridge the gap in mental health services for dads, called Sut Mae Dad? (How’s Dad?).
Welsh Government’s Understanding strategy aims to reduce the rate of self-harm, suicide and attempted suicide in Wales. Mind Cymru says its publication is a welcome development, but that more investment in third sector is needed to help improve on the practical support available for people like Aled.
Simon Jones, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Mind Cymru, said: “Suicide is a hugely complex issue and, as Aled’s story shows, everyone’s experiences are different. It is also widely known that becoming a new parent is one of those times in life when extra support emotionally is so often needed.
“Our network of local Minds provides invaluable community-based support to people with their mental health across Wales, including new parents through our local Minds Mums Matter programme, but there is clearly a need to support fathers too.
“Experiences like Aled’s show us that the need to build on services like these to help make sure everyone with a mental health problem in Wales is able to get the support they need is more urgent than ever.
“Everyone needs the right information, skills and knowledge for suicide and self-harm to become everybody’s business, not least in improving support for men – far too many of whom are still struggling with stigma or to be heard in Wales today,” Simon added.
“In practical terms that means listening to and investing in locally-based third sector organisations that are already working closely with their local communities to provide them with support however they can.”
Mind Cymru provides a safe space for anyone to talk about their mental health with advisors who are trained to listen, and help find specialist support if needed, through its dedicated Support Line on 0300 102 1234 (available 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday).
