Let's Make Change this Stress Awareness Month

Stress and poor mental health are some of the biggest public health challenges that we currently face.

Everyone has mental health, some days are better than others, but as much as we seem to know about mental health, we still feel there are some miscommunications and stigma in everyday life.  

One topic that many professionals speak about is separating mental health from physical health. The reality here is that the two, while different in nature, are two sides of the same coin. They are both equal in their importance, and therefore should be treated with the same amount of seriousness and the respect that they deserve.

Mental and physical health also can affect one another. When you’re feeling unwell mentally, this can impact your physical health as your routine can change, amongst other things. Similarly, when you go through a period of poor physical health, this can have negative implications on your mental health as you are going through a challenging time.

This Stress Awareness Month, we want to contribute to breaking down the stigma. We want to help people understand that mental health is equally as important as physical health, and that it should be treated as such when people are struggling to cope.

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992, and its aim is to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stresses. This year, the theme of the month is #ActNow, with ACT standing for Action Changes Things.

It’s important that we use campaigns such as this as an opportunity to have open conversations on the impact of stress. This will also help us lessen the guilt and shame people feel when opening up about how they feel, which is helpful as evidence shows that simply talking about stress can reduce its impact. It’s important that we encourage people to reach out for support when they need it.

William James, who is considered the father of American Psychology, said:

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”

As an NHS organisation, we pride ourselves on our strong health and wellbeing initiatives for our teams. We understand that everyone will go through periods of poor mental health in their lives, and we want to do everything we can to help them thrive in the workplace and access the support they need when they’re not feeling their best.

On the other side of this, as a mental health services provider, our expert teams are on hand to support the people in our communities when they need it most.

If you feel like you would benefit from speaking to a therapist about your mental health, your local NHS Talking Therapies services may be a good option for you. You can self-refer to these services, so you do not always need to go to your GP.

If you live in the East Riding, we provide Talking Therapies through our Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS). The friendly team at EWS would be pleased to hear from you, and offer several different therapies to help support you and your mental health.

The treatment you receive and how this will be delivered will be decided through an assessment with a trained therapist. As part of the service, there may be therapy tasks for you to do at home, prior to your session, which will be agreed between you and your therapist to help you achieve your goals.

You can self-refer into the EWS through the following options:

Text TALK to 60163

Call: 01482 335451

Refer Online: https://iaptportal.co.uk/erew.html

Website: www.humberews.co.uk 

Alternatively, if you’re a resident of Hull, City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) offer the Let’s Talk service. You can find out more about this, including how to refer into the service, here.

Whether you are experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, or something else, it’s worth looking into these services and seeing if you think they might be right for you.

If you don’t think they’re right for you, you can see a full overview of our services here.

If feel you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call our free mental health support line anytime 0800 138 0990.

If you are in an emergency, or might do harm to yourself or others, please call 999 or visit your local A&E department immediately.

To find out how you can get involved in the national Stress Awareness Month activities happening throughout the month of April, visit: https://www.stress.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-month/