My name is Jo and I became a mental health ambassador as a result of lived experience of suicidal crisis.
I am particularly interested in “masking” mental health struggle. Masking can happen when people feel they need to hide their authentic self and how they really feel, in other words, they are putting on a mask, playing a part that in no way reflects how they real feel.
A mental health survivor told me recently that masking can feel like “screaming in a sleeping bag” and that the resulting exhaustion can in itself be overwhelming.
I wrote the poem This and Every Day for a conference on World Suicide Prevention Day. I wanted to honour the experience of people living with life threatening mental illnesses as well as those who have been lost to suicide.
I am passionate about multimedia poetry but don’t have the skills to produce it. But @create4mh do so we collaborated as volunteers to make a short film with the poem as a voiceover.
This and Every Day contains themes of suicide so viewer discretion is advised. If you need support in response to this short film, or at any other time please visit
If you are in SW London this is a great resource if you need extra help Link