THE JED FOUNDATION

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adults in the U.S., and yet, something as simple as reaching out to a friend who seems down could make a huge difference to their mental health.

‘Seize the Awkward’ is a movement that aims to transform the way we think about an awkward silence with our friends. Rather than something to avoid, awkward silences can be a good thing: The perfect opportunity to reach out to a friend and ask how they’re feeling. Because showing you care can actually help and it could even help stop something far worse happening later on.

We launched a series of tutorials to give helpful tips on various topics, including how to know if you’re friend wasn’t themselves, how to start a conversation, how to keep going when things got awkward.