Such courses typically neglect mental-health emergencies, leaving participants poorly equipped to help people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, the effects of alcohol or drug abuse, or a diminishing grip on reality.Betty knew firsthand the potential consequences of this lack of knowledge. When she was 15, she experienced an episode of severe depression, which culminated in a suicide attempt. But her family and teachers failed to recognise the problem, so she received no support or professional help. This lack of early treatment undermined her recovery, and she has continued to experience episodes of depression throughout her life.
In order to help ensure that more people did not have to suffer alone as Betty had, we resolved to create a mental-health first-aid training course in our local community. Three years later, when Betty reduced her paid employment in order to develop Mental Health First Aid training, we were finally able to launch the course.The benefits of this initiative quickly became apparent, with evaluation studies showing that participants became more accepting of the health significance of mental illnesses, more confident in their ability to help others, and motivated to apply their knowledge after completing the course.Such positive results helped to drive the course's expansion.
