James Donaldson on Mental Health – I didn't see my friend's suicide coming – and as a nation, we're blind to mental health

One of the first funerals I attended that wasn't a relative was that of an old school friend. Everyone adored Sally – she was so clever, funny, cool and charming. That she died by suicide absolutely floored me.

Of literally anyone I have ever met, Sally would have seemed the least likely to do so. I thought of Sally as I listened to Prince William on Radio 1 calling the taboos around mental health and suicide prevention 'a national catastrophe.'

Staggeringly, less than a third of people who need mental health care can access it. Shame has long been used to 'treat' mental health problems. Shame has suppressed it, making people live horrified and secretive lives.

I was 12 when I developed the insomnia, depression and anxiety that I wouldn't be treated for until I was 18 and outlining how to kill myself. Yet all this happened quite silently. I didn't want to bother anyone.

There is always a cost. Investing in those people — and yes, those children — who are suffering is not only a pragmatic way to address economic inactivity, but a kind way to help people to live rather than to simply endure. Suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 50 in the UK, and 75 per cent of all people who die by suicide are male.

Above all, it requires understanding. Everyone knows someone who has struggled — or worse — with invisible health issues. The silent pandemic of mental illness has only ever been silent to keep things looking nice and polite. When it becomes too much of an effort to stay silent, the reverberations are truly shocking.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.