The fear of not having the right words, not knowing where to start, or worrying you’ll upset someone, can keep us from saying the thing that might actually tug them back from the brink of a devastating decision. Talking can change everything, as Melanie Blumenthal, 39, has found. “It can be hard to sit down in front of someone you love and say, ‘You realise this is not OK. What can we do about it?’ [Rather] than just keep on smiling and let this person be,” she says. “Letting this person be is to arrive at the point that can put his life in danger. It’s what happens when you go deep down a depressive or manic episode.”
