Tragic death of Haydon Croucher spurs mental health advice to men in Milton Keynes

Following the tragic death of Haydon Croucher - the brother of missing Milton Keynes woman Leah - men all over Milton Keynes who are suffering with low mental health are being urged to seek help.
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Local police put out a special tweet today, on International Men's Day, begging them not to suffer in silence.

“Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK. If you need support, please talk to someone,” they said.

The tweet published the list of numbers below:

Haydon CroucherHaydon Croucher
Haydon Croucher

Samaritans - 116 123

MindCharity - 0300 123 3393

TheCALMzone - 0800 58 58 58

PAPYRUS - 0800 068 41 41

In the UK, men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women. The rate of deaths among under males aged under 25 increased by 23.7% last year.

NHS England is running an #EveryMindMatters campaign here to offer free free advice, tips and resources to help people look after their mental health and wellbeing.

The Samaritans' website also contains a wealth of valuable resources.

A spokesman for the Samaritans said: “We're here to listen, no judgement, no pressure, and help you work through what's on your mind. We'll never tell you what to do."

They offer advice to people who are worried about a friend or relative's state of mind and list signs to look out for that may indicate a person is not okay.

These include feeling restless and agitated, not wanting to talk to or be with people, not wanting to do things they usually enjoy, using alcohol or drugs to cope with feelings, finding it hard to cope with everyday things, and not replying to messages or being distant.

The Samaritans also warn people to look out for certain phrases on social media that can indicate a person is not coping. Examples are 'I want to give up', 'no-one would notice if I wasn’t here' and 'I hate myself'.

A Samaritans spokesman said: “Talk to them about their feelings. Our advice on having a difficult conversation is here. Encourage them to contact us. They can call on 116 123, email , visit one of our branches in person or send us a letter. If they need advice on a particular issue, they can get in touch with one of these specialist organisations here."

The spokesman added: “You can contact us on their behalf. If you call us or email, we can reach out to them. We won't tell them you asked us to do that unless you want us to.”

Haydon Croucher died on Saturday - the day after the nine month anniversary of his sister Leah Croucher going missing.

His mum Tracey Furness has bravely spoken out about her son's mental health, describing how Haydon felt "so alone, so lost, and so broken" that he felt he had no choice other than to take his own life - read the full story here.She said: “Haydon was so consumed with pain and anguish and despite the love around him it wasn’t enough. His mothers love and that of his entire family was not enough.

"If one life can be saved through knowing the impact of this sad but tragically too common reality, then Haydon's loss of life will not be in vain.”