Today's guest is Julie-Anne Whitfield.

Every day in Australia, nine people end their lives by suicide and this is more than double the national road toll. For every one person who dies, there are 39 attempted suicides. What is even more frightening about these figures is that they are pre COVID -19 statistics and these numbers have increased dramatically over the past twelve months. 

This week’s guest is Julie-Anne Whitfield who has been a Hospitality & Training Professional for over 35 years and four years ago, she proudly became an ambassador for RUOK? RUOK is a non for profit harm prevention organisation that encourages people to stay connected and have meaningful conversations with others who are going through the most difficult times in their lives. 

In this episode, Julie-Anne discusses how the RUOK organisation contributes to suicide prevention efforts by encouraging people to invest more time in their personal relationships and to build informal support networks within the workplace. Julie-Anne explains how we as friends, family and colleagues can become more alert to the behaviours of those around us, how we can recognise signs of difficulty or distress, how to have a conversation with someone who we identify is in need of help, and how to connect them to the appropriate support, long before they are in crisis. Julie- Anne stresses that it’s about trusting our gut and our intuition when we think someone is struggling with life and the importance of creating a culture around support, connection and caring in the workplace environment. 

The message in this episode is that we can all make a difference!

In this episode
1:08 - Introduction

12:15 - What is RUOK?

23:09 - Why is there shame in asking for help?

26:40 - The four step action plan

32:11 - What is the right approach?

42:55 - The importance of checking back in 

46:46 - Recognising the signs in a virtual world

51:38 - Finding more resources about RUOK

RUOK Website - https://www.ruok.org.au/

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/25

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