Creating Hopeful Communities
Agencies are brilliant at solving client problems.
They are far less comfortable talking about the pressures quietly building inside their own teams.
In fast-paced, ambitious environments, stress is normalised. Burnout is joked about. Long hours are worn as a badge of honour. And people who are struggling often believe they simply need to “cope better.”
Ellie Macdonald knows this world well. After 17 years in PR agencies and founding her own, she reached a breaking point with anxiety and depression she had hidden for years. That experience—and losing her father to suicide as a child—led her to create HelloHope, helping organisations talk openly about mental health and suicide prevention.
Her message to agency leaders is clear: silence does not protect people. Openness does.
Why this matters now
The statistics are sobering:
Suicide is the leading cause of death for under-35s in the UK
Most people experiencing suicidal thoughts tell no one
Agency culture can intensify risk through pressure, perfectionism, and long hours
Leaders often assume people will speak up. In reality, they don’t—because of fear, stigma, and job security concerns.
The stress container: why strong people still overflow
Ellie introduces a simple model: everyone has a “stress container.”
Stress goes in. Coping strategies let stress out.
Healthy outlets:
Rest, exercise, time off
Talking openly
Therapy, creativity, time with loved ones
Unhealthy patterns that block release:
Overworking
Drinking or avoidance
Withdrawal, irritability, self-harm
In agency life, unhealthy coping is often normalised—exactly when stress is peaking.
Leaders must:
Notice when containers are filling up
Model emptying their own
Spotting early warning signs
Pay attention to:
What you sense – someone feels “different”
What you hear – “I can’t do this anymore”, “I’m a burden”
What you see – withdrawal, risk-taking, routine changes
What you know – life events adding extra strain
These are invitations to check in, not ignore.
How to open a life-saving conversation
You don’t need perfect words. You need presence.
“You seem different lately—want to talk?”
“I’m here to listen, not judge.”
If needed, ask directly: “Are you thinking about suicide?”
This reduces risk, not increases it.
Building a hopeful agency culture
Make mental health part of how you operate:
Train teams in suicide awareness and mental health first aid
Make support pathways clear
Protect realistic workloads and mental health days
Model vulnerability as leaders
Prioritise regular, genuine check-ins
“We need to stop treating self-care as a luxury and start treating it like oxygen. You can’t support your team if you can’t breathe.”
This session is also a chapter in the Agency Growth Book.
Watch the full session video and download the book to learn how your agency can become a place where hope lives—and where lives are saved.
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