Mental Health Awareness Week 2022
We recently celebrated Mental Health Awareness Week – and we are so grateful for the important focus it brings to our well-being and keeping ourselves connected.
However, we believe mental health awareness should be at the front of our minds all year round – not just for one week. We would encourage you to tune in with how you are feeling, make time for your wel-being and know where to turn to if you need support.
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Loneliness – so let’s see how we can help ourselves to be better connected throughout the year.
Did you know? Loneliness is a key indicator of poor mental health, reports by The Mental Health Foundation show that being connected to other people in a way that helps us feel valued is absolutely fundamental to protecting our mental health. Long-term feelings of loneliness have also been shown to be associated with higher rates of mortality as well as poorer physical health outcomes.
Some tips on how to tackle loneliness:
- Know you are not alone in feeling lonely – it is a universal experience
- Reach out to a loved one – be honest and open to create a deeper connection
- Make building quality relationships a priority over the quantity of relationships you have
- Connect to yourself – journal, doodle, express yourself
- Try something new – remember the things we find scary often help us grow
- Don’t feel pressure to follow the crowd – you are unique and have every right to be your own person
- Be kind to yourself – you’re the oldest friend you have
- Take a look at the Mental Health Foundation’s tips on loneliness here.
Feeling isolated? Please reach out for support.
There is no shame in feeling lonely or isolated. We have all experienced these feelings – and they will pass. But remember, just because you are experiencing loneliness, doesn’t mean you are alone. There are so many places you can turn to today to speak to someone. You matter greatly to us, and we want to help you to get to a place of wellness.
