On 30th November at Bristol Energy Hub we were delighted to attend the distract app launch for young people around suicide prevention and self harm prevention.
The creator, Dr Knut Schroeder gave a fantastic presentation on the features of the app, to include how to contact various support organisations, what to do in an emergency and also how to distract oneself when feeling low or potentially self-harming. There is a “chill” zone with ideas for resources around books, further reading, videos etc. Dr Knut said that he has a passion for helping young people, after working with lots of young people within his GP practice who have had various mental health issues. Suicide is the largest killer of young men nationally, and Bristol have a city wide initiative through the Thrive project to make Bristol a happier and better place to live and work. Work such as distrACT can really help support this, especially as young people can access support and easily access help in a discreet way. The app is not designed to replace mental health services, but to complement local services, as a way for users to seek further support.
In collaboration with our Mental Health and Well-being project, Healthwatch are delighted to promote this initiative and keen to let the public know that it is available to download via Apple Store or Android. It is FREE to use, and there are lots of features that might be useful to a young person
For more information about the new app you can follow them on Twitter @expertselfcare and #distractAPP
