In this podcast I am joined by 3rd year Medical undergraduate, Heather McAdam (President & founder of WellMed, for Medical students at UoE). We talk about the mental pain that can lead someone to try to end their life, what helps and what doesn’t help if you are feeling suicidal, or if you are supporting someone who is, and how it is possible to come through a suicide attempt into enjoying and appreciating life in a whole new way.

Heather shares some inspiring tactics that she adopted, and describes how social media was positive in her recovery, for enabling her to share feelings and insights, and to discover that she was not alone.

We talk in this podcast about transference - the ways in which we can pick up feelings from someone, such as feelings of anxiety or depression, and that those feelings are not your own and do not need to stay with

you. One way to manage transference is to talk to another person about the feelings you have noticed. You can use the University Staff or Student counselling Service or the Listening Service for this.

Support

Please use the following information if any of the issues discussed in this podcast have affected you and you’d like support.

If you feel that you or someone you are with is in danger right now, please call 999. You can also contact the NHS 24 hour emergency mental health assessment service on 0131 537 6000.

24/7 helplines

Breathing Space: 0800 83 85 87
The Samaritans: 08457 90 90 90
Edinburgh Crisis Centre: 0808 801 0414

University support

The Advice Place
Nightline
Student Counselling Service
Staff Counselling Service
The Listening Service (for students and staff) at the Chaplaincy: chaplaincy@ed.ac.uk; 0131 650 2595

Life in lockdown- episode 11: Martha, Dementia and lockdown

Let's Talk by the University of EdinburghBy University of Edinburgh Jul 14, 2020