This webinar provides a brief overview of how mental health, just like physical health, is important to our day-to-day lives and must be maintained. We discuss how:
• Mental health problems affect around 1 in 4 people per year
• Our mental health affects how we think, feel and act in our daily lives
• Poor mental health can make it difficult to cope with our daily lives
In this webinar we discuss:
• Symptoms of anxiety and depression
• How loneliness and bereavement can impact our mental health
• Suggestions for looking after the mental health of yourself and others
• What to do in a crisis
• Professional support, resources and helplines
Hello everyone my name is Chen pay Williams and I’m a senior programs officer in Birmingham public health and welcome to a bolder healthier winter webinar these are a series of practical resources to enable Community leaders and professionals to support communities in Birmingham to stay healthy and well
This winter you can find the recordings of these on our website this week I’ll be covering Mental Health looking at how we can take care of your mental health and support others in the community and the best place to start is what do we mean by mental health mental health is a
Lot like physical health everyone has it and it’s very important that we take care of it throughout our lives our mental health affects how we think feel and act mental health can affect many things such as how we approach making decisions handling challenges relating to others and generally doing the things
Things that we need to do in our daily lives mental health can go through periods of ups and downs and when we experience poor mental health it can feel like the way we think feel and act are becoming difficult to cope with and it can be hard to handle our daily lives
Po M to hell can make you feel a whole range of emotions like tired sadness helplessness burnt out angry agitated overwhelmed stressed and worried it can feel just as bad as a physical illness however whatever you’re feeling it’s important to remember that you’re not alone mental health problems affect
Around one in four people in any given year they range from common problems such as depression and anxiety to where a problem such as experiencing psychosis this is when we hear things see things and believe things that aren’t sh shared by others now I’ll be going through more
In depth on the common illness of mental health and just what the cause of of it and how affects us so let’s talk about anxiety what is anxiety anxiety is what we feel when we are worried or afraid about a situation it’s our body’s natural response to things we we
Perceive as dangerous and threatening however if these feelings are disproportionate to the situation and are very strong regular heart to control then this can be an anxiety disorder the symptoms of anxiety disorder as as follows on the slide is frequent uncontrollable wor and Dread feeling tense Restless irritable and muscle pain
Fast breathing and heart rate and tight chest headache and feeling space out and disconnected feeling nausea dizzy and sweating however there are other symptoms that we sometimes don’t associate with with anxiety such as tightening the chest digestive problems and problem sleeping now let’s talk about depression
What is depression in the same way which anxiety isn’t just worrying from time to time depression isn’t just feeling down sometimes depression is often very difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t felt what is like it isn’t just feeling sad some people with depression say it’s like being unable to feel
Anything at all people can feel worthlessness very distant from from the world and things that used to bring them pleasure doesn’t work anymore sometimes people describe this as like living behind a glass wall depression can also affect your energy levels feeling tired and unmotivated sometimes sleeping too
Much sometime being unable to go to sleep at all all some people describe it as a heavy weight even a pushing on their chest or a feeling of meaningless or pointlessness people often experience physical symptoms too that might not known or relate to unexplained aches or
Pains a low sex drive or changes either increase or decrease in appetite or weight but the main treatment for depression are talking therapies such as counseling or cognitive behavioral therapy and anti-depressants medications which may help relieve the symptoms of depression however there are lots of things people can try stay in touch with
People however hard this may feel it can be doing some form of exercise even if it’s just walking not drinking too much alcohol as alcohol is actually a de present in itself and eating healthy and nutritious food thinking bman has access to a lot of resources that may help as
Well such as peer support workers for people up in the age of 25 and over and there are helplines and other resources available on the website to support this weinar these comments on on the presentation on the slide at current is just what fear as people has described
What depression is to them I read too just literate how people receive an understanding depression differently when I was younger I described it as feeling as though I have been hit by a boss not that it was painful but that it was the huge weight on top of me that I
Couldn’t remove people were always saying I should do this or do that but they couldn’t understand that I was pinned under it and couldn’t get out depression feels like a weight on my chest which brings me down everywhere I go I wanted everyone want to know how I
Felt but I didn’t know how to tell them now let’s move on to loneliness what is loneliness loneliness is characterized by feeling isolated and alone and not being able to experience the social interaction and relationships that we desire some people feel lonely even when they’re with other people or
Live in a big city loneliness is a common experience expence and the short days and cold winter can be particular isolating over the winter months this has been even worsen over the last few years during covid-19 pandemic where are 7.2% of people in a 2021 surveys reported being always or often feeling
Lonely research has also shown that loneliness and isolation can be just as harmful to our mental health and well-being as a obesity and smoking loneliness can be damaging to mental health and poor mental health can in turn be an isolating experience some groups can be especially vulnerable to
Loneliness such as people and strange from friends and family single parents and carers people living with chronic illness and people with low income or experiencing unemployment as well as people experiencing discrimination and stigma based on their race gender sexual orientation and disability what there is help out there to support individuals
Going through this so if you’re feeling lonely there’s a variety of support available from telephone ref referer hotlines and peer support groups both online and iners information will be shared along with this video that might be able to help you as well as well there’s details on the slide here
Showing that berum Minds has a directory of help for support that you can find within your area as age UK as well with telephone be friend in service now let’s move on to bement bereavement occurs when we lose someone or something that is important to us we
Can also experience grief when we Face job loss or the end of a relationship co9 pandemic as well has exposed many of us to a disproportionate amount of bement and lockdown restrictions have denied us the opportunity to grieve these losses in a healthy way this can have a significant
Impact on our mental health leading to complex grief bement can also lead to us to experience a whole range of emotions as we process that lost including feeling of shock numbness overwhelming sadness anger guilt confusion tiredness and exhaustion these emotions are all a natural part of the grieving process
However if the symptoms of bereavement are becoming overwhelming and you feel you are struggling to cope there are lots of options that you can try for support and advice a lot of bement service will be shared with this video as well as you can see on this slide
This natural service of brething support and a local service of brething support that we can tap into as well so what can you do to look after the mental health of yourself and others there’s a lot of things that you can do to take care of your mental health and
To support others with their mental health too these tips can help you maintain good mental health might be able to help you if you feel like you’re struggling these tips will go through in the next part of this webinar include keeping a diary planning for difficult times practicing relaxation activities
Talking to someone and seeking peer support taking care of your physical health and reducing your social media usage so let’s begin practicing journaling and planning ahead regular writing a diary with your thoughts and feelings has been shown to have huge benefits to your to our mental health
And wellbeing it can help us make sense of things that are happening in our lives and express how we are feeling about them particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed journaling can be an excellent way to vent and unload it’s a useful way to regulate our emotions we can note down any particular physical
And emotional symptoms we are feeling and any trigger that might have set it off there are a lot of resources with advice on journaling techniques you can practice plan ahead for hard times this is important that we plan ahead and anticipate things we might experience in the future so that we can priortize
Looking after our mental health we can rearrange activities that are that we find difficult and ensure we make time for things we enjoy and help us relax taking time out for self-care to reflex reflect and recuperate for the day is not selfish it’s essential for your mental health and
Wellbeing now let’s talk about the importance of talking and peer support there can be a lot of stigma around talking about your mental health but the more we talk about mental health as something we all experience the easier it is for people to reach out for help
And discuss how they are feeling it is important that we are present persistent honest and understanding in encouraging people to talk we all know that it’s good to ask how someone is doing but it’s often hard to know what to do when they say they are struggling fortunately
There are lots of resources and options for support if you are concerned about your mental health or someone else’s speak to your GP you can speak to your local GP about your mental health who can sign post you to relevant support your workplace it is the responsibility of your workplace to
Create an environment where mental health is discussed and supported peer support groups there are plenty of groups where people with similar live experience can meet online or in person to discuss their challenges or du activities such as gardening Sports walking cycling mindfulness walking centers and culture sensitive support concerns about lack of
Cultural understanding and language can often be a barrier to people seeking mainstream support however there is a broad range of groups and services in Birmingham for people of different Fates ethnicity sexual orientation and who do not have English as their first language most importantly speak to someone that
Feels safe talking to links to a broad range of support services and resources will be shared along with this video as well so let’s talk about the importance of relaxation meditation mindfulness and prayer think about learning different relaxation techniques that you can use to manage your stressful level one
Option could be to practice mindfulness through meditation or prayer whether you are spiritual person or not taking time to be present and examine your mind can have enormous benefits for your mental and physical health while mindfulness can be taught in person there’s a range of free and pay apps and resources out
There that you can utilize in your daily routine to help you manage and cope with stress or overwhelm with within your daily lives now the beauty of mindfulness is that you can do it anywhere anytime so why not we try making this a part of your daily routine so let’s talk about
Taking care of your physical health taking care of your physical health is particularly important during the winter months as well as keeping fit and helping to prevent illness it can have a huge difference to your mental health it is recommended that the average adult gets between 75 and 150 minutes of
Exercise per week however physical activity does not have to be vigorous exercise like sports or going to the gym going out of the house for a short walk has been shown to significantly reduce risk of diabetes and cardiov vascal disease but it also has many mental health benefits especially if you are
Able to walk in green spaces with other people it helps to reduce stress and anxiety improve our energy and alertness improve our self-esteem and confidence improves overall mood and symptoms of depression reduce risk of dementia and memory loss the active well-being Society deliver a broad range of peer support groups running physical
Activities for all abilities across permanon including walk and talk sessions and group cycling looking after your physical health can include basic self-care like getting washed dressed get out of the house every day ensuring you maintain a healthy diet and get enough sleep is also an effective way to keep mentally
Healthy let’s talk about social media and impact it has on our mental health the unrealistic expectation set by social media can lead to feeling of low self-esteem and needing to pursue Perfection which can manifest in anxiety disorders using multiple social media platforms simultaneously has been closely linked
To symptoms of social anxiety it’s not always easy to tell why you’re feeling down when you’re online it’s important to remember that social media is designed to hold our attention for as long as possible and it’s not always the things we enjoy that we do young minds
Have some useful tips on how we can change our social media to use it to have more positive Time online following advice is unfollower mute accounts that annoy you upset you or take you too much of your time you don’t have to be on every social media platform try the lay
In social media app from your phone for a week and just see what happens limit the time you spend on social media before you go to sleep and when you first awake before you post a comment ask yourself whether it’s positive for you and people who will see it use the
Emoji slide found on young mind’s website to consider how your social media feed makes you feel link is also on this on this slide they can take you to this to the social media sign for more tips and advice how to be mentally positive
Online so what do you do in a crisis if you are in a mental health crisis there’s a few things that you can do for example bam mine operates a 247 mental health hotline that you can call whether you need support without being known or registered to the service number is 0121
26 2 35 or Birmingham and SLE urgent mental health helpl line at 0800 915 9292 for advice and support just remember these are 24/7 s days a week and can be use whether you you’re known to service or not there’s also an email help Burman and.org or you can get in contact for
Web chat service by helpline berum minds and there’s also a broad range of local col National Services that you can use for support on the topics discussed today the contact details for these organizations will be shared along with this video on our website thank you everyone for joining me today I hope you
Have a bolder healthier winter