World Mental Health Day - 10 October 2018

Today (10 October) is World Mental Health Day, an annual day for global mental health education and awareness. On this day each year we seek to bring attention to mental ill health and its effects on people’s lives worldwide.

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is “young people and mental health in a changing world.”

Adolescence and the early years of adulthood are a time of life when many changes occur, for example changing schools, leaving home and starting university or a new job.  For many, these are exciting times. However, they can also be times of stress and apprehension, which in some cases, if not recognised and managed, can lead to mental illness.

The expanding use of online technologies can also bring additional pressure, as connectivity to virtual networks at any time of the day and night grows.

Events celebrating World Mental Health Day 2018

 
On World Mental Health Day (10 October) the Trust’s CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) will be opening up its service for an open day. Friends, family, carers, students and colleagues are all welcome to the event, on the theme of ‘Young people and mental health in a changing world’. 

The event is on Wednesday 10 October from 2pm – 7pm at Temple House, Mill Hill Lane, Derby, DE23 6SA. There will be stalls, cakes, refreshments, a raffle, CAMHS recruitment stall and some special guests and inspirational celebrities.

Mental Health Awareness Event, hosted by Pauline Latham OBE MP

A free Mental Health Awareness Event is on Friday 12 October 2018 at the University of Derby’s Enterprise Centre from 10am – 2pm. To register for the event telephone 01332 676679 or email howitta@parliament.uk

Inspired by this year's World Mental Health Day, the Trust has launched HART, a group to offer students support with emotional wellbeing.

New mental health campaign launched by Public Health England

A lot has been written about promoting wellbeing in society, and changing the stigma towards mental health in this country. We want to take positive actions to build a culture that champions good mental health within our community and provide a greater understanding of what we can do to actively look out for our wellbeing, and help those who might need support.
We all have mental health, and like our physical health it goes up and down, directly affecting our overall wellbeing, quality of life and life expectancy.

And just like our physical health there are things that we can do to improve our mental health.

In celebration of World Mental Health Day, Public Health England is launching a new campaign to empower people to take control of their mental health, called Every Mind Matters.

The campaign focuses on the things we can all do to protect and improve our own mental health and how we can look out for others.

At the heart of the campaign is the Every Mind Matters online guide, an online curated resource that will provide expert advice and tips and a personal action plan to help improve our mental wellbeing.

Here are a few highlights from the helpful information modules included within the guide:

Understanding anxiety

We all have days where we feel anxious, feel uneasy and worry about the future. Sometimes anxiety kicks in before a job interview, presentation or going to a party where you don't know many people, and goes away once the situation passes. It's completely natural.

Anxiety can become a problem when our worries start to feel out proportion, last for longer periods of time, or begin to interfere with everyday life. 
Anxiety affects people in different ways and can be influenced by several things. 

Anxiety is our body's natural reaction to perceived danger. It focuses our attention and gives us a rush of adrenaline to react, sometimes called the "fight or flight" response. Many of the physical signs of anxiety are linked to this bodily response and are generally harmless.

When anxiety becomes a problem, it can feel overwhelming and interfere with our everyday lives and relationships.

Feelings of anxiety at certain times are common. But if your anxiety is affecting your daily life or causing you distress, you could consider seeking further support.

Understanding low mood

Everyone feels low or down from time to time. It doesn't always mean something is wrong. We have all experienced situations in which we have felt upset, sad or disheartened. Feeling low is common after distressing events or major life changes.

If your mood seems very low for several weeks, and starts to impact on your daily life, you may be experiencing depression.

When we’re depressed we tend to think more negatively about our past, feel hopeless about our future, and become more critical of ourselves. It can lead to sleep problems, and we might stop doing things we used to enjoy or put off routine or necessary things. While understandable, this can make things worse.

What causes low moods?

We're all affected by things differently, and low mood can be brought on by many things. It could be a difficult life event, like a bereavement or relationship breakdown, or an ongoing worry like money problems or the pressure of taking care of our children.

Sometimes we feel low for no apparent reason. For some of us, this may only happen once in our lives, but for others it can happen more often. 

Making some small changes in your life, such as talking about your problems, being more physically active or getting more sleep, can usually improve your mood. And changing our unhealthy habits can also help in the long run.

When to get help

Everyone feels low or down sometimes, particularly when difficult things are happening in our lives. If you're still feeling down or no longer get pleasure from things for most of each day and this lasts for several weeks, you may be experiencing depression.

You can talk to your GP, call NHS 111, or in most areas you can refer yourself directly for psychological therapy through your local IAPT service. To get in touch with Talking Mental Health Derbyshire IAPT service, you can self-refer from our website or by e-mail: dhcft.talking@nhs.net or if you have any questions you can call: 0300 123 0542.

There are some physical illnesses associated with depression, so it's important to rule out possible physical causes or side effects from any medication you're taking if your low mood doesn't go away.

If you're having thoughts that life's not worth living, or you're self-harming or thinking about doing so, it's important to tell someone and make sure you access help immediately.

These thoughts can be complex, frightening and confusing, but you don't have to struggle with them alone. Help and support is available right now if you need it.