The national experience of mental health is that a quarter of the population experience some kind of mental health problem each year. That means in Hull approximately 70,000 people could to experience some difficulty per year.
Many people who live with a mental health problem, or who are starting to experience difficulties are afraid of what other people may think about them. This can cause people to keep their feelings hidden. It is important that you are aware of you mental welling and discuss your feelings with someone you trust.
There can be times when we don’t feel ourselves, we can all experience feeling sad or stressed and at times we can all struggle to cope with day-to-day life. This could be for a number of reasons such as:
following the loss of someone close to us
loneliness and feeling isolated
worrying about money or work
Most of the time these feelings pass quite quickly, but sometimes we can be affected by our feelings for a longer period of time, which can have a greater impact on our mental health.
The majority of people who experience mental health problems can recover or learn to live with them, especially if they ask for help early on.
There are many different mental health problems. You may experience symptoms that are common to two or more diagnoses, or you may experience the symptoms of more than one mental health problem at once.
Mental health problems include -
Stress and Anxiety
Mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. We can often point to things that trigger a period of poor mental health but some people tend to be more deeply affected by these things than others.
Factors that could potentially trigger a period of poor mental health include -
the death of someone close to you
a long-term physical health condition
However, there are things we can do to help us improve our mental health.
Maintaining good mental health
As with physical health, it is important we understand how to keep good mental health.
Generally, if we want to be physically healthier, we try and eat more healthy foods, exercise more and cut out the things we know are not good for us, such as chocolates or alcohol.
However, although all those things can have a positive impact on our mental wellbeing, there are other things we can do to help us maintain good mental health.
Maintaining a good standard of mental health will depend on a lot things such as -
being aware of your feelings
getting a good night’s sleep
feeling safe and secure
maintaining a healthy diet
maintaining a work life balance
money and debt
reducing the intake of drug, alcohol and smoking
The following information may offer some advice and guidance to help improve some of the issues you feel might be affecting your mental health and emotional wellbeing -
Our Health and wellbeing section has lots of information and tip to help you live a healthier lifestyle
If you need support to help you live your life such as finding something to do, help with money or housing issues or you feel unsafe, then you may want to view our staying independent section to help you take control.
Alternatively, you can contact their advice team Monday to Friday (9.30am to 4pm) for information and practical support by telephone on 03005 000 927.
Time to Change campaign
The Time to change campaign is a growing movement which aims to overcome the stigma around mental health and change how we all think and act about mental health problems. Their website has lots of information about mental health along with self help tips and stories from people who are living positive lives with mental health problems