MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 10TH – 16TH MAY 2021
Mental Health Awareness Week
10th – 16th May 2021
This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week.
People’s Mental Health is so important, and it is finally being highlighted and spoken out about more than it has ever been before. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately had a huge impact on many people’s mental health, causing people to face difficulties and challenges that are new to them.
The article below will provide you with some information on taking care of your mental health, including what mental wellbeing is, tips for improving your mental health, guidance on seeking help, and finally who you can turn to.
Some of the information in this article below has been taken from the ‘Mind’ website.
Taking Care of Your Mental Health
Everyone should take care of their mental health and wellbeing, whether they have a mental health problem or not.
Mental wellbeing describes how you are feeling and how well you can cope with everyday life. Your mental wellbeing can change from moment to moment, and you can instantly feel different.
What Is Mental Wellbeing?
Mental wellbeing does not have one set meaning. People may use it to talk about how they are feeling, how well they are coping with daily life or what feels possible to them at the time.
Good mental wellbeing does not mean you are always happy or unaffected by your experiences. But poor mental wellbeing can make it more difficult to cope with daily life.
Tips For Improving Your Mental Wellbeing
There are lots of things we can try and do to take care of our wellbeing. There are a few things you can do to make a start in making a positive change. When trying out new things it is good to try and do what feels comfortable. Give yourself time to figure out what works for you, going at your own pace taking small steps and pick one or two things that feel achievable at first, before moving on to try other ideas.
Ways to Help Improve Your Mental Wellbeing Could Be:
- Relax and reduce stress
- Find ways to learn and be creative
- Spend time with nature
- Connect with others
- Look after your physical health
- Try to get enough sleep
Seeking Help
Seeking help is often the first step towards getting and staying well, but it can be hard to know how to start or where to turn to. It is common to feel unsure, and to wonder whether you should try to handle things on your own or seek help. It is always ok to seek help even if you are not sure you are experiencing a specific mental health problem.
You may want to seek help if you are:
- Worrying more than usual
- Finding it hard to enjoy your life
- Having thoughts and feelings that are difficult to cope with, which have an impact on your day-to-day life
- Interested to find more support or treatment
Who can You Turn to?
There are lots of options for support out there, although you might find some are more suitable for you, or more easily available. There is no wrong order to try things in – different things work for different people at different times.
- Your doctor
- A trained therapist
- Family, friends, carers and neighbours
- Charity and third sector organisations
- Peer support
- Student Services
- Community support services
- Workplace support
For more help and guidance please click here which will take you to the ‘Mind’ website.
or
Call Samaritans to talk about anything that is concerning you. You can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 116 123 which is free from any phone.
Thank you for taking the time to read our article on Mental Health Awareness Week.
Bernard Sims Associates