Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45. Ben Caird, Chief Operating Officer at Boxergy, has made it his mission to openly talk about his struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. In February he ran 100 miles to raise funds for CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably). AM Bid Founder and Business Development Director Andrew Morrison recently joined Ben for a LinkedIn Live discussion about the issues, the help that is available, and how we all can support people with depression.
As Ben mentions, unfortunately, in the UK there are roughly 125 suicides per week and 75% of them are men under the age of 45. CALM run a free and confidential helpline and webchat 365 days a year for anyone who needs to talk about life’s problems. Last year they did over 2.5 million minutes of phone calls with people suffering from suicidal thoughts and depression, supporting them at their lowest points.
Ben shared part of his own story, saying, “I suffered depression in my early 20s and unfortunately did attempt suicide; thankfully from the support of these kind of groups and my family and friends I am here today to talk about it. I think we need to get over the stigma of not being able to talk, especially with men, we have this sort of hard exterior where we feel we should always say we’re ok whereas in fact actually sometimes it is good to talk, whether it be with an external person like the people at CALM or friends and family.”
To support CALM, Ben is running 100 miles in February. He says, “I’ve not ran for over 3 years, so it has been a hard challenge so far. But again, this helps me overcome obstacles. So far, I am just below 60 miles in but unfortunately, I do have a knee injury at the moment which is causing a few issues. But like anything when challenges come up it is how we overcome them that makes us. I’ve had fantastic support so far; we’re up to just under £700 pounds raised with a target of £1,000, so any support will help me to push on.”
You can donate at Ben’s JustGiving page.
With exercise being a proven mood booster, this challenge ties in perfectly with CALM’s mission. The AM Bid team has been following Ben’s progress and feeling inspired by it, so in March we will be doing our own fundraising challenge – you can learn more and support us here: AM Bid is fundraising for Campaign Against Living Miserably (justgiving.com)
Watch Ben’s LinkedIn Live interview with Andrew Morrison HERE for more and visit Homepage | Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) (thecalmzone.net) to learn more about their mission and how you can get involved.