On 5 July this year my world was turned upside down. Until then I was an average 28-year-old, married with two children and a full-time job, juggling the stresses of everyday life.
But that morning I woke up to find my husband Daniel missing. He had suffered with his mental health for a long time, but I still did not expect what had happened. Daniel had taken his own life.
My world was thrown into a spiral. So many questions were unanswered and an uncertain life now faced my family.
Mental health problems are too often perceived as a weakness and just not talked about
Daniel left a lengthy note, mostly comprised of statements depicting his state of mind. But there was one element of his letter which really stayed with me: “You weren’t able to save me but you can try and save someone else,” he wrote. This sentence swam around in my head and the day after Daniel’s death, I set up a charity called The DPJ Foundation to support others suffering from mental health problems in Wales. I wanted to use his name to make a difference.
We decided that our work would focus on Pembrokeshire, a rural area with particular disadvantages for those suffering with mental health problems. It is a community where everyone knows everyone and admitting your supposed frailties isn’t an option. Mental health problems are too often perceived as a weakness and just not talked about.
[For more of this story, written by Emma Picton-Jones, go to https://www.theguardian.com/vo...amp;utm_medium=email]
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