Sarah Potter, Mental Health and Wellbeing Service Manager, reflects on World Mental Health Day. 2020
As I sit in front of my laptop, my mind goes blank and I think about all of the points I should cover and how to make this a really interesting read! The thing is, yesterday I had this all marvellously structured in my head- why didn’t I write it down then? But I think that’s the thing- everyday is different isn’t it- sometimes things just flow and sometimes well- they don’t ……or not so well.
And that is the thing about Mental Health or emotional health, sometimes it ‘flows’ and sometimes it feels like you are constantly swimming upstream. As a society we haven’t always been very good at talking about this, and although things are getting better, we know there is still a certain stigma or discomfort around talking about our feelings and emotions and the impact they have on our daily lives.
Mentalhealth.gov explanation is Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
On a more personal level, I like to describe it like an internal barometer or spectrum, that we all have- that moves up and down depending on where we are in life, what else is going on and how we are able to deal with or manage those things. Did you spot that? I said we all have it…. For many years ‘mental health’ was viewed as the presence of ‘poor mental health, symptoms, distressed emotional wellbeing or sometimes a diagnosis’. Whereas mental health actually is as much of our make up– as physical health, sometimes we have a day we feel a bit ergh physically and sometimes we feel a bit ergh emotionally, and that’s ok!
During these times, it may be that we need to show a bit of self care, thinking about how we might treat our best friend, or someone we love very much, with kindness and compassion and well chosen words. We are not always very good at doing this for ourselves and family carers often find this really hard to do, as the caring role does not simply go away because you need some ‘time out’. So, finding what works for you as a family carer is really important and the good news is- we are here to help. Our range of services work with those as young as 5 through to 105 and our fantastic staff team are able to work with you to find out what will work best for you and your family.
For many people, simply the chance to offload to a non-judgemental listening ear is just what they need, in fact if you visit our website it’s one of the things we immediately ask, as we recognise that ‘just having a chat’ can be so beneficial for some people.
Beyond that we have so many services that we can offer to young carers and their families throughout the generations and whatever your caring situation. It is at this point I am so very tempted to start to list all of the services we offer but as our range is so great, I fear that I will miss something out. What we encourage people to do is to make contact with us and together we can discuss what is important to you right now- and how we can help with that, and remember that all of our services are FREE.
If this all sounds very familiar then it is not surprising, in a Carers UK survey- In sickness and in Health- 87% of carers said that caring had negatively impacted their mental health. As an organisation that is here to support family carers and their wider families, we really do invite you to reach out and get in touch with us, by whichever means you feel most comfortable, you can all on 01473 835477, email on hello@suffolkfamilycarers.org or use our online chat on our website.
If you are feeling concerned about your own emotional wellbeing, we work alongside a range of partners who also offer help and support. Don’t forget you can speak to your GP about your mental health as well as your physical- don’t forget to tell them you have a caring role!
- NSFT – First Response If you are experiencing something that makes you feel unsafe, distressed or worried about your mental health you can now call the helpline on 0808 196 3494.
- Wellbeing Norfolk & Suffolk – https://www.wellbeingnands.co.uk if you are stressed, anxious, low or depressed.
- The Emotional Wellbeing Hub – Call 0345 600 2090, available Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm. Information, advice and support for anyone concerned about the emotional wellbeing and mental health of a child or young person aged 0 to 25 years
- Samaritans – If you are in crisis please call 116 123 anytime of of the day or night. https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help
- Suffolk Mind – https://www.suffolkmind.org.uk/
- 4YP – https://www.4yp.org.uk/home/counselling/
