The fallout of RUOK? Day

I was getting wary of R U OK? day after a comment by the Blackdog Institute in their Suicide Prevention video (along the lines of ask open questions not simply 'Are you okay?' as it can be easily dismissed by a yes. They pointed out you need to pin the person down to expand their answer, more that you've noticed they seem unhappy about something and could they tell you more?) and last week a person on Twitter asked "Who do you think asking R U OK? is for" and the answer, from people with mental health struggles was a resounding 'for the asker to feel good about themselves'. Also whatever you do, don't post photos of the RUOK cupcakes because they REALLY hate that! There were a lot of comments on the futility of the cupcakes. As Thursday came and went, I did notice in my FB feed, a number of people posted "So are you OK?" or put up the poster of the organisation and I thought 'No one would ever reach out, seeing that'. It's talking about it but not really reaching out to anyone. 


However, I do still believe it's better than nothing and it is trying to do a good thing. The good thing is making us a little more responsible for those around us. So I sent off seven cheery little messages, not using those exact words but asking how they were and I'd noticed they weren't on SM or we hadn't seen each other in a while etc. I hope it didn't seem like an RUOK prompted note, but it was definitely checking in and asking those questions. Two of my OS friends responded that they had just lost their parents in the last two weeks and downloaded the devastation that was causing for them. Another's husband is in the midst of serious health woes and that the stress is overwhelming. Given the replies, I think it was appreciated and for one friend, maybe a relief because it's hard to express some feelings to people out loud and in your close circle. Sometimes there's safety in someone 'out of the loop'.


So my conclusion, while it's far from perfect (and I don't have a better solution), and while it definitely should not be used to pat yourself on the back nor should you put the onus on the troubled person to reach out to you, it is better than nothing, and can be worthwhile. I do think it is more helpful if you reach out to them personally.

Now the responsibility is on me to keep checking in with these people, and to set up a day a month to regularly reach out to others (as I'm notoriously slack in this regard). It can't be a once a year thing. 

Maybe it's just a matter of catching people at the right time...and to do that, you need to be paying a little more attention.

I've dropped the ball with friends while dealing with my own 'stuff' but I'm realising I need to rectify that. It is something I'm intending to work on.

Linking with #FriendshipFriday  #PictorialTuesday #TheRandom