Australian's reminded that every day is R U OK?Day 

A decade on from the inaugural R U OK?Day, the conversation movement continues to grow from strength to strength. What started as a national day of action is now a year-round call encouraging Australians to authentically address the question and build an R U OK? culture in their workplaces, schools and communities.

Fostering peer to peer support is becoming an integral part of our workplaces, schools and communities, with organisations increasingly recognising that none of us are immune to the ups and downs life may throw at us.

Whilst asking R U OK? might not be the panacea to suicide prevention, it has a significant place in a sector-wide effort for early intervention. We are educating people on when to have a conversation, building confidence to ask the question and importantly, giving clear, practical advice on what to do when someone says, “No, I’m not OK”.

This year we called on Australians to ‘Trust the Signs, Trust their Gut and Ask R U OK?’ , a theme that helped people overcome uncertainty about when to have an R U OK? conversation.

The campaign was in response to research we commissioned that found nearly two-thirds of Australians (63%) were not confident they knew the signs that someone might be struggling with life. But encouragingly of those surveyed, almost half (49%) believed they’d be more confident starting a conversation if they knew the signs.

We took the ‘Trust the Signs’ message on the road to every state and territory, asked Australians to learn the signs at www.ruok.org.au , practice an R U OK? conversation using the ‘RUOK Mate’ Action on Google, and share the message in their own communities.

Recent research revealed 69% of Australians had asked someone “Are you OK?” at least once in the last month, and that people are increasingly willing to reach out and offer support to someone who might be struggling with life.

Eight weeks on from R U OK?Day, we encourage you to check in on those you might have asked. Life’s challenges are not resolved overnight. Consider being the colleague, the mate, the family member who is there for the long-haul, standing shoulder to shoulder with that person for however long is needed.

We would also like to remind Australians that it’s not only those in need who can access professional support services – that we can all call on those services to share our concerns or learn more about mental illness for example to ensure those we ask feel supported every day of the year.