Torch Song - Arcades

BTS help people, it's a fact, they help through their words, their songs their actions and just being who they are.

It's also fair to say that they themselves represent the most under supported gender in terms of mental health care.

They have never been shy in talking about how they feel, the hardships they have gone through and how they have come out the other side.

We at BTS Radio UK wanted to come together with ARMY across the world to support a charity wholly focused on the mental health of men, preventing suicide and supporting the families affected by male mental health.

WHAT IS CALM?

We are the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and we’re leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK through frontline services, national campaigns, and by building communities.

WHY?

·         6,507 people died by suicide in 2018 (ONS)

·         Every day on average 17 people take their own life in the UK and three in every four suicides are male (ONS)

·         Of men under the age of 45 in the UK, more than 4 in 10 have contemplated taking their own life, but fewer than half these men told anyone how they were feeling (YouGov)

·         Only 55% of men who’ve experienced depression will tell anyone about it, compared to 67% of women (CALM’s Masculinity Audit 2016).

·         84% of men say they bottle up their emotions (YouGov)

HOW?

CALM takes an active and positive approach to changing this unacceptable picture:

1. We operate on the front line, delivering services for anyone in crisis or distress, supporting the people around them who are looking for advice, and those bereaved by suicide
2. We campaign for long-term culture change to help raise awareness of suicide and change a culture where some people feel they can’t ask, or shouldn’t, ask for help when they’re down.
3. We spread our message and facilitate supportive spaces in workplaces, universities, pubs, clubs and prisons across the country – so that people feel empowered to share their experiences and get the help they need before they reach the point of crisis.

THE CALM APPROACH

CALM is a platform for expression and collaboration, where we actively reject living miserably to embrace and celebrate all interpretations of masculinity. 

CALM PROVIDES 

Frontline services

·         Anyone can hit crisis point. We run a free and confidential helpline and webchat – 7 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone who needs to talk about life’s problems

·         We support those bereaved by suicide, through the Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP)

·         theCALMzone.net is CALM’s website, hosting inspiring content alongside information and support

Campaigns

·         Everyone has a part to play. We campaign with media partners, brands and ambassadors to spread awareness of suicide and its devastating impact with campaigns like #Project84, #DontBottleItUp and The Best Man Project. We challenge boring male stereotypes and encourage positive behavioural change and help-seeking behaviour, using cultural touch points like art, music, sport and comedy

OUR IMPACT

·         CALM’s helpline and webchat services directly prevented 675 suicides in 2018

·         Since CALM was founded in 2006, awareness of male suicide has quadrupled and currently sits at 45% nationally

·         CALM supports in excess of 10,000 contacts on the helpline and webchat each month

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

·         £8     Enables CALM to answer one potentially life-saving call

·         £24   Provides support materials to 4 families who have lost someone to suicide

·         £109 Equips a volunteer with vital training and ongoing support to spread the CALM message across the UK

·         £440 Trains and equips a professional helpline worker to speak to people in crisis

thecalmzone.net | @thecalmzone

We are hoping you will donate towards this wonderful charity and the work it is doing, here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bts-radio-uk-mybtstorchsong

To thank you for your support we approached some male army to talk about their experiences of mental health, they have kindly sent us their BTS songs that have become their torch songs, songs that touch you and get you through those moments something CALM knows about through their torch songs campaign.  #whatsyourtorchsong 

Read and share their stories, thank them for their honesty, donate and listen to their joint playlist here: #MyBTSTorchSong in support of CALM

Many Army will by now have heard of our homegrown electronic duo ARCADES, these talented  artists, Max Graham and Matt Thompson, have previously worked with the likes of Ellie Goulding and Year & Years. It was their debut track 'In The Air' which was noticed by J-Hope leading to them being approached by the management team of BTS. Map of the Soul: Persona features two tracks which they contributed to, Mikrokosmos and Jamais Vu.

ARCADES

I feel it's important to open up and talk about mental health but also to give as much knowledge as possible. When I was growing up I'd always have a little voice saying 'do this or something bad will happen', and it controlled most of my childhood.

One day at school I got it, 'hold your breath for a minute or someone will die', then my teacher asked me a question so I wasn't able to do what it said. The next day at school we found out one of my best friends dad had died and I was in bits. I thought that it was my fault and gave the voice some legitimacy. So for years I'd do whatever it said. It became like a bully and would stop me from doing what I wanted to and gave me constant anxiety.

It stopped around the age of 17 and after a traumatic time with work four years ago it came back. After going to the doctor he sent me to a lady who specialised in this and instantly told me it was OCD. I said no, OCD is being neat and tidy and wanting to wash your hands etc; and she told me that's peoples perception, but it's actually exactly what I had.

Just this knowledge alone helped me and after a few sessions with her and some reading I was able to keep it at bay. I just think even having that knowledge when I was younger would have helped, but instead I just got told 'Matt is just a worrier'. I think it is so important to take all mental health problems seriously, help diagnose them, and know how to treat them is essential. By sharing our stories it could hopefully help someone else who is in a  similar position looking for answers.

Our picks for ARCADES Playlist:

1. Mikrokosmos
2. Jamais Vu
3. Euphoria
4. The Truth Untold
5. Serendipity
6. Spring Day
7. Save Me
8. Make It Right

Have to choose Mikrokosmos for obvious reasons. This song has really our lives thanks to the boys and to BigHit! Me and Max both have backgrounds in guitar bands so having a nod to that more rocky/ guitar sound really resonates with us. Lyrically the song is very inspirational and the lines 'Shine, Dream, Smile' reminds us to be our best selves, reach for the stars and enjoy life, and to me that is the perfect message that the boys, as role models, could send. It's also a message that seems to have connected with the BTS Army all around the world.

You can follow Arcades on their following social platforms:

Twitter: @arcadesuk
Instagram: @arcadesuk
Facebook: arcadesuk