Dan’s Story: Dan has experienced the impact of suicide throughout his life. He lost his dad to suicide when he was three, later lost a friend and has faced his own struggles with suicidal thoughts. In sharing his story, Dan talks honestly about the invisible weight people can carry, what has helped him through his darkest moments and why his role as a Mental Health Champion means so much to him.
Content note: This personal story discusses suicide, suicidal thoughts and bereavement.
People sometimes describe suicide as “a permanent solution to temporary problems”.
But when someone is in that place, the problem does not feel temporary. It can feel final, as though there is no way back.
That is why World Suicide Prevention Day matters. It gives us a reason to talk about something that still takes far too many lives, and which too many people continue to carry in silence.
In 2025, 5,728 suicides were registered in England. The picture within construction is particularly difficult to ignore, with the suicide rate four times higher than the national average.
The person behind the statistics
These are not simply statistics. They are people who went to work, had families waiting for them and were part of a team. People who may have appeared completely fine from the outside.
That is something I understand personally.
When I was three years old, I lost my dad to suicide. I was too young to fully understand what had happened, but I grew up with the impact of that loss around me. It became part of my story before I even had the words to explain it.
Years later, I also lost a friend to suicide. This loss hit differently. It was someone I knew, someone with a life, a personality, people who loved them and a future that should have continued.
Both losses showed me how much pain can sit behind silence and how much people can carry without those around them ever truly knowing. They also showed me the lasting impact suicide has on those left trying to make sense of it.
The weight nobody could see
A lot of people who meet me now would have no idea that I have experienced suicidal thoughts myself. They would not know about the days I did not want to be here or the weight I have learned to carry.
People can still turn up, smile, make conversation and do their jobs while fighting a battle nobody else can see.
I have lived through moments when the pain felt permanent. I have also seen what happens when someone does not get the chance to stay. That is why I believe talking matters so much.
Counselling helped me find different ways to navigate what I was feeling. Talking made me feel less alone, and even something as simple as taking a short walk could change the direction of a day.
My partner’s support also played a huge part. She stood by me during my darkest hours with patience and understanding, at a time that must have felt just as confusing for her as it did for me.
That support helped me hold on when I was struggling to do it for myself. But the pain did not simply disappear.
One reason can be enough
I still have difficult days and carry an invisible weight. Every morning, I give myself three reasons to get out of bed. It is one of the coping methods I use to prepare myself for the day.
Sometimes those reasons are easy to find. On other days, I cannot think of three.
And that is okay.
On those days, one reason can be enough.
One reason to get through the next hour. One reason to go for a walk. One reason to speak to someone. One reason to stay.
Recovery is not necessarily about never struggling again. It can be about learning how to keep going when difficult moments return.
Creating safer conversations at work
That is why I am proud and honoured to be a Mental Health Champion at The OM Group. It is a role I care about deeply because I know how important it is for people to feel seen before they reach crisis point.
For me, it is about helping conversations around mental health feel normal and creating a workplace where someone can say, “I’m not okay,” knowing they will be met with care rather than judgement.
I cannot take away every struggle someone is facing, but I can help make sure they do not have to face it alone.
In construction, we rightly talk about safety all the time. But going home safely should mean more than leaving work without a physical injury. It should also mean going home with support, dignity and the confidence to speak when things are not okay.
You don’t need the perfect words
None of us needs to have the perfect words, and we are not expected to fix someone’s life in one conversation.
But we can notice when someone seems different. We can check in properly. We can ask the question and listen without judgement.
A conversation can interrupt a spiral. Being heard can relieve some of the weight someone is carrying.
And if you are struggling, please remember: how you feel right now does not have to be the end of your story.
Feelings can change. Support can help. Life can become something you are glad you stayed for.
This World Suicide Prevention Day, check in properly. Ask the question. Listen to the answer. And if you are struggling, tell someone the truth.
It could save a life.
If you need support, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 116 123. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.