'It's just such a wasted death' - Lou Teasdale talks young suicide
The stylist and beauty influencer is speaking on World Suicide Prevention Day
Suicide remains the biggest killer of young people in the UK.
But stylist and influencer Lou Teasdale's on a mission to change it.
Ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day 2025, the stats around suicide are stark:
- 1,840 young people died by suicide in 2023
- That's five young lives lost every day
- 7% will attempt suicide before the age of 17
Lou Teasdale raising awareness of young suicide
Lou says action is needed to arrest these alarming figures.
She rose to fame as part of One Direction's support team, and is now a stylist and influencer. And she has had experience of losing loved ones to suicide.
Speaking to the Mental Health Monday Podcast she said: "It's just so tragic because it just doesn't need to be like this.
"You just think, if they were here now, where would they be and what would they be doing? Years later, for their families, the fact that they're not here anymore, it's just such a wasted death."
Finding support for suicide victim's families
Lou says the ripple effects of suicide are profound, and potentially very dangerous: "One suicide actually creates 10s of people around that suicide that become susceptible to suicide because of the trauma, the shame and the guilt and people find it very difficult to move on from it."
Lou says often families and close friends can bear the brunt of a loved one's suicidal crisis, something that very few people are capable of navigating safely.
She told us: "If they had a cut on their finger, you wouldn't expect those people to stitch it up. That would be ludicrous.
"But with mental health that's who it gets left on. When I've been in that position I've been screaming out 'I'm just not qualified to do this!'"
Listen: Lou Teasdale on the Mental Health Monday Podcast
Body & Soul charity campaign launches
Lou isn't just talking about mental health and suicide. She's taking action too, teaming up with the Body & Soul charity to help guide people through their darkest times, while at the same time offering support to family and carers with a loved one experiencing suicidal thoughts, or who've been bereaved by suicide.
This long term support, underpinned by appropriate therapies combined with a sense of community, is designed to arrest the worrying UK suicide trend.
Lou will visit Parliament later this month to talk about the need for these services nationwide, and for vital support networks provided by charities like Body & Soul to be recognised and funded accordingly.
For 2025, Body & Soul have launched the "Let's Kill Suicide" campaign to "challenge the crisis driven system which is failing young people."
Listen to the conversation in full, and hear more about Lou's work with Body & Soul on the Mental Health Monday Podcast
If you want to find about more about Body & Soul visit their website.
To find mental health services where you live, visit the Hub of Hope.
In an emergency, the number to call is 999.