This week in the UK is National Mental Health Awareness Week, so
we're doing our part now to raise awareness. This year the theme and
focus of the week is "Relationships".
We wanted to highlight the
fact that its Mental Health Awareness week as its a fantastic initiative
to get those of us who are fortunate enough not to suffer mental
illnesses such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, to better understand the
everyday problems and challenges faced by those who do. And that's a
whopping 1 in 4 of us currently in the UK, experiencing mental health
problems every year.
(*stats and more info from: MIND)
There are examples everywhere of even
famous faces that live with mental illness, yet it still seems a taboo
subject that not many are willing to discuss or even admit to. A study
out today also highlights that for those over 60years -especially men -
the numbers of cases of depression are ever increasing and help from the
NHS is flagging. Mental health is simply still not tackled with the
resources it should be in the mainstream. Little to no help is offered
in far too many cases.
If someone has a
physical disability, we can instantly sympathise (or treat), but for
those suffering from something we cant see, its more complicated and
therefore responses are slower and more varied. We believe in the
community - our friends, family and colleagues etc, we simply still
don't know how to approach the issues.
We
hope by raising awareness of mental health this week, we can make
inroads to how we view and can treat mental illness in all forms. Just
getting people used to talking about it - admitting it - is half the
problem solved already. The more we are aware, the more we discuss, the
more we learn and can sympathise, can treat, and can support mental
health in our communities - showing support and understanding to your friend, family, colleagues that have mental health issues is the best we
can do, so lets open this up and not be afraid to talk about something a
huge 1 in 4 of us will experience this year alone.
Focus on Relationships:
The mental health foundation are focusing this years Mental Health Awareness Week on RELATIONSHIPS. Relationships are the forgotten foundation of mental health and overall personal wellbeing. You can get involved and learn more about improving your own relationships or supporting others here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/relationships
With
no nonsense nutrition we talk a lot about food/drink and what we
consume on a daily basis to keep our bodies healthy. What we don’t
mention as much, although think about and practice all the time, is
feeding our minds (as well as our bodies and bellies!) - which obviously
includes feeding our relationships.
Relationships can span
anything and everything from that with with your partner, family and
friends, to for example your relationship and how you interact with
work, finance, education, spirituality and learning. (Plus of course our
relationships and how we think about food). Therefore relationships
and how we think about them have the potential to impact on just about
everything in our daily lives.
Keeping your mind on your relationships
and how you interact and react to aspects of them, is a very big task we
face every day. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/relationships/our-daily-relationships-challenge
What is your relationship resolution?
This week we (alongside the mental health foundation) are asking you to make a Relationship Resolution. You can share your resolution via the website here:
OR by using the hashtag #RelationshipsResolution on social media posts.
Final note:
Mind are a mental health charity,
there to help us if we find relationships are sometimes not as healthy as
they could be. Mind is a charity and resource for better mental health. We support Mind in Croydon (as our local charity) and will be doing so by taking part this year in their Positive Steps charity walk in June. For more details please see our events page to come along and get involved: EVENTS
Lets keep the ball rolling - keep focused on mental health - our own and that of others. Raise the bar, raise awareness and get on board this week and into June with the walk.
For more info regards the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week, Mind (in Croydon) and the Positive Steps walk just ask! You can email me here - info@nitakothari.com or get in contact via any of our social media channels below:
Remember this week to tag your #RelationshipsResolution
Our next blog will focus more on mental health and feeding our minds - with the concept of PRIMARY FOODS - so sign up for our newsletter (via any page of our website www.nitakothari.com) not to miss that, which will include a simple exercise we can all do to find and focus on what challenges need more focus to improve our own mental health and wellbeing.
www.nitakothari.com
**Please remember this is advice ONLY (as is all other
information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it)
None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your
GP or health professional**
