Supporting each other this World Mental Health Day

This Saturday (10 October) marks World Mental Health Day, a day designed to encourage authorities to take action and create lasting change within mental health care. World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness in the global community around mental health issues, “with a unifying voice through collaboration with various partnerships”. This important day has been in existence since 1992.

This year’s theme is ‘mental health for all’. Our colleague Sarah Garner, Associate Director for the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Children’s Services, shares the importance of taking care of our mental health…

“This year, we’ve all been staying inside more, with our day-to-day routines disrupted, and many of us have felt the negative effects on our mental health.

“In a year where all young people have had to build immense levels of resilience to combat the challenges of COVID. Young people across the UK have faced countless challenges this year, from long enforced periods at home and the uncertainty of unpredictable exam results, to unstable working arrangements or lack of employment opportunities, university lockdowns and ever-changing, school, college and university-specific COVID restrictions. These challenges have left all young people more vulnerable to mental ill-health than ever.

“Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, mental health doesn’t discriminate, everyone goes through it at some stage in their lives. People are often afraid to admit difficulties and find it hard to seek help. Mental health is extremely important for each one of us to have a happy life and to move forwards with our plans, goals and ambitions.”

Author, Adrian Michael Green, wrote this:

It’s ok
To have a bad mental health day
To have a not so good day
To have a hard time looking at yourself day
To have an unsure how you feel day
To have a not in the mood kind of day
It’s NOT ok
To define yourself off of one day
To be so critical that you judge yourself harshly and think you are not capable of enough to be better day
You are allowed moments of messiness and tangledness, it’s about getting through not getting by
Let your down days be when you love yourself harder
Give yourself grace
You are a beautiful human being – remember that

Get help and support

If you need to talk, please reach out to a friend, loved one or a colleague. There’s a number of support services and resources available on the Health and wellbeing support page on AskHUE. One of which is the Employee Assistance Programme, provided by our HR and ODL team. It offers professional and personal advice, support and counselling.

If you know a child or young person in need, you can contact our Single Point of Access (SPA) team on 0300 300 1600, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Related article

Help break the silence around mental health – Wednesday 7 October 2020
Find out what the CCG is doing to break and end the stigma around mental health in the workplace.