Stewarton mum backs mental health campaign months after losing her son to suicide

A Stewarton Mum, whose son tragically took his own life earlier this year aged just 21, is speaking about his death to support a new mental health campaign.

The Mental Health Foundation is launching “Make it Count” which calls for the Scottish Government to do more to tackle a so-called mental health “crisis” in schools.

Frances Beck, who is also a teacher, was left devastated when her son Conor took his own life in February this year, after struggling with his own mental health as a student at university in Dundee.

She said, “His mental health was deteriorating quickly and he had gotten into such a state that his friends managed to get him to see a GP. That was the point where he told us. He said he’d seen a doctor ‘so it must be bad.’

“We weren’t hugely worried because he was talking about it. Usually they say if they aren’t talking then that’s a cause for concern - but he was. His mood however had changed drastically. He was angry.

“I tried to talk him into speaking to a counsellor but he said he couldn’t understand how a counsellor would help him because he didn’t know the reason why he was feeling this way.”

On February 14th 2018, after a night out, Conor took his own life.

He was found the next day at his halls of residence by security after his worried friends raised the alarm.

Police officers arrived to tell Frances that night. She said, “I was just in a state of absolute disbelief and devastation. My daughter was with me at the time and she collapsed so I had to hold her together.

“In some ways, I still don’t believe it.”

Frances is now supporting the ‘Make It Count’ campaign – believing early intervention could have saved Conor. “The most effective way of ensuring good mental health for all is to prevent poor mental health developing in the first place and improve early intervention when it does occur.

“It is intuitive therefore that we start in schools, teaching our children and young people about mental health and wellbeing, and developing their emotional resilience by teaching them positive coping skills.

“Bullying, maltreatment, poverty, relationships and belonging are just a few factors that children and young people may face - this was the case for my son Conor. He, like myself, was bullied throughout his school life and I have no doubt he would have benefited from being educated about mental health and how to effectively cope with that stress.

“His story could have been so very different if he'd had that support at that key stage of his life. Had his mental health problems have been prevented, it's highly unlikely that he would have taken his own life.

“Health and wellbeing, along with literacy and numeracy, are the three core areas of the Scottish curriculum that all teachers are responsible for teaching, regardless of subject speciality. During my time as a teacher, the vast majority of my colleagues were very supportive of that requirement, but a lack of specific training was problematic in designing and delivering lessons.

“It's really important that all teachers are effectively trained in mental health and are able to provide regular, quality mental health and wellbeing education. Heartbreakingly, none of this will bring back my son, but it will go a long way in ensuring that the lives of other young people are not so tragically ended.”

Latest statistics show 8,000 children in Scotland with severe mental health problems were waiting to see a specialist at the end of June 2018 and 2,116 of them had been waiting for more than 18 weeks.

The Scottish Government announced more school-based counsellors and Mental Health First Aid training for teachers in its Programme for Government, but the charity has warned that this won’t solve the problem and called on the government to focus on prevention.

Toni Giugliano, Policy Manager at the Mental Health Foundation Scotland said, “It’s unacceptable that teachers are still not trained in mental health in Scotland. School staff desperately want the training to explore the “real life issues” that create distress – be it body image, relationship worries, exam stress or how to handle difficult conversations on social media.

“Mental ill health is on the rise and schools must be equipped to respond and prevent distress by helping young people build resilience and cope with difficult situations. Unless we do that we’ll continue to see more children in crisis.

“We welcome the commitment to train teachers in Mental Health First Aid – but we shouldn’t be waiting for children to become unwell before teachers are able to assist them. All school staff should be trained in much broader mental health and resilience to prevent mental ill health from developing in the first place.

“Unless we take action now we will fail the next generation right at the start of their lives.”

The campaign wants aims to achieve the following:

You can find out more about “Make It Count” and sign a petition here.