Every May, the Mental Health Foundation hosts Mental Health Awareness Week. Now in it’s 22nd year, this is an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.
This year’s theme focuses on the link between loneliness and mental health problems and how we can prevent them.
Loneliness affects the mental health of millions of people across the UK. The longer we feel lonely the more we’re at risk of mental health issues such as low mood, anxiety and this can have a negative effect on mental health.
Overcoming loneliness and its impact on mental health cannot be achieved by the individual action of people alone. We must address loneliness together in our communities and across our whole society and together prevent mental health problems
We’ve gathered together a selection of things you can do to help with loneliness as well as some links where you can get more help and advice.
Keep busy with things that make you feel good:
Keeping busy with things you enjoy can be energising and positive, but things such as working too hard or watching too much TV only serve as a temporary distraction and can make loneliness worse
Don’t overlook the little connections:
Connecting with others can be hard when you’re feeling lonely. However, even connecting at a low level, for example talking to the check-out operator at a shop, can make a difference.
Talk to a therapist about how you feel:
If you can find a professional, it can really help. Talking through your feelings with a counsellor or therapist can help you cope with your feelings of loneliness. Talking therapy can provide you with a safe space to work through your feelings and thoughts without judgement.
Recognise that loneliness is not linked to being a particular age, to living alone, or living in a particular area:
This can help breakdown the stigma of loneliness that can make it hard for people to seek help. The public overlook some of the key groups that are at risk of severe loneliness, including carers and LGBTQ+ people.
The stigma of loneliness makes it hard for people to talk about:
People worry about being judged or feeling a burden to the people they are in contact with.
You can access more information at using the following websites:
Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
British Red Cross: www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-with-loneliness
Campaign to end loneliness: https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/
Every May, the Mental Health Foundation hosts Mental Health Awareness Week. Now in it’s 22nd year, this is an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.
This year’s theme focuses on the link between loneliness and mental health problems and how we can prevent them.
Loneliness affects the mental health of millions of people across the UK. The longer we feel lonely the more we’re at risk of mental health issues such as low mood, anxiety and this can have a negative effect on mental health.
Overcoming loneliness and its impact on mental health cannot be achieved by the individual action of people alone. We must address loneliness together in our communities and across our whole society and together prevent mental health problems
We’ve gathered together a selection of things you can do to help with loneliness as well as some links where you can get more help and advice.
Keep busy with things that make you feel good:
Keeping busy with things you enjoy can be energising and positive, but things such as working too hard or watching too much TV only serve as a temporary distraction and can make loneliness worse
Don’t overlook the little connections:
Connecting with others can be hard when you’re feeling lonely. However, even connecting at a low level, for example talking to the check-out operator at a shop, can make a difference.
Talk to a therapist about how you feel:
If you can find a professional, it can really help. Talking through your feelings with a counsellor or therapist can help you cope with your feelings of loneliness. Talking therapy can provide you with a safe space to work through your feelings and thoughts without judgement.
Recognise that loneliness is not linked to being a particular age, to living alone, or living in a particular area:
This can help breakdown the stigma of loneliness that can make it hard for people to seek help. The public overlook some of the key groups that are at risk of severe loneliness, including carers and LGBTQ+ people.
The stigma of loneliness makes it hard for people to talk about:
People worry about being judged or feeling a burden to the people they are in contact with.
You can access more information at using the following websites:
Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
British Red Cross: www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-with-loneliness
Campaign to end loneliness: https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/
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