Mind

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Our stories, histories, and experiences are connected to our mental health and wellbeing. Sharing them not only strengthens our connections with others but also allows us to celebrate our unique cultures and identities. We’ve put together a few reflective questions to help you explore your own story, heritage, and mental health this Black History Month. Some of these questions may evoke complex emotions. It’s important to honour and hold space for those feelings and seek help if you need to by visiting our Black History Month page ⬇ https://lnkd.in/evGm-dEE

The government had no plan for mental health during the pandemic. Today, at the Covid Inquiry public hearing, we asked Professor Sir Chris Whitty what plans the UK government had put in place to protect the public’s mental health during the pandemic. The answer: none. This is devastating. It’s devastating to those of us who lost loved ones during the pandemic or since. Devastating to those of us still suffering from the mental health fallout of the pandemic. We knew drastic measures to combat Covid-19 were necessary. But we also knew these measures would have an impact on mental health, and we were sounding the alarm from May 2020, calling for urgent mental health support. Despite these warnings, the UK government didn’t put a plan in place for mental health. Not then, and not since. The expectation has been to simply return to ‘business as usual’ - leaving so many of us struggling with our mental health. And services still woefully inadequate to deal with the fallout. Mental health must be central to any future emergency responses. This cannot happen again.

Brian Cox bringing awareness to workplace mental health wasn't on our bingo card for this year, but here we are. We absolutely love this iconic campaign by our corporate partners ASICS. Banana anyone? 🍌   P.S. If you join in this campaign between 10th October - 30th November and take a photo of your empty desk with #DeskBreak, ASICS will donate £5 to us.

Mental health has just topped the list of biggest health concerns, according to the 2024 Ipsos Global Healthcare Monitor study. 🧠 Every year 1 in 4 of us in Britain will experience a mental health problem. 🏥 Over 2 million people are waiting for NHS mental health services in England. 🔹 Since 2017 the number of young people struggling with mental health has almost doubled. It was great to see mental health prioritised in the King's Speech in July. Now we need to see action.

It’s #BiVisibilityDay! 🩷 💜 💙 Today we celebrate the B in the LGBTQIA+ community! Many bi people face biphobia, bi-erasure and mental health struggles. Bisexuality is not a phase or a stepping stone. If you feel unseen, know that you're valid, loved and supported. Thanks so much to @lydiakatharinex (Insta) for allowing us to share her beautiful illustration. 

Things that can be passed through generations: Traditions Family heirlooms Trauma Generational trauma is when a traumatic experience is shared by generations of a family, culture or group. Experiences of racism, abuse and major historical events like genocide and war are examples of things that could cause generational trauma Stories passed down through generations could make us wary of the world. Or we might feel unsafe because of traumatic legacies, like the ongoing effects of colonialism on racialised communities. And trauma might affect how we’ve been raised – if we see older generations avoiding certain people or places, we might feel the need to do the same. Generational trauma is real. And you don’t have to go through it alone. We have lots of advice for getting treatment and support for trauma on our website, from art therapy to crisis services.

“Being childless not by choice has so many similarities with having mental health problems. People want to fix you, they tell you about miracle stories and how friends and family members have overcome situations – not realising that everyone’s situation is different and a complex muddle of biology, social and emotional factors. I have found the same with mental health – people want to offer miracle cures and well-meaning advice, without truly understanding the battles inside your mind. “To the outside world, I was a happy outgoing person who supported everyone else. Inside I was dying, lost in my pain, putting a brave face on at every pregnancy announcement. I would hold my pain and panic attacks until I could reach the sanctuary of the toilet to lose myself in panic and despair. Announcements, baby showers, birthdays, first days of school, graduation, weddings, grandchildren - all things that I would never know. Both my childlessness and mental health left me isolated … kids parties I don't get invited to, visits that don’t happen, no longer having things in common with the people closest to you, because you are not part of that club, no play dates, no catching up at the school gates. “But you can learn how to manage your mental health and your grief at being childless and I have done.” In #WorldChildlessWeek Hayley blogs about the toll that not being able to have children has had on her mental health and how she has come to terms with the life she didn’t choose ➡️ https://bit.ly/3XqJiwu

Another day. Another stigmatising headline we’ve had to correct. 2 million people are on mental health waiting lists. Let's focus on getting them the support they deserve instead of writing stigmatising articles.

Mental health makes up 20% of health issues but gets less than 10% of NHS funding. That’s one of the findings from the Darzi Review, published today, which shows huge gaps in NHS mental health services. And the NHS also published new data this morning. It shows more people are reaching mental health crisis - over 52,000 adults and children were sectioned under the Mental Health Act in the last year. These are the other key findings from the Darzi review. But they make for upsetting reading, so take care when reading on:
 💷 A lack of investment in NHS buildings has left mental health patients in crumbling wards, some as outdated as “Victorian asylums". 🚸 500,000 children and young people are waiting for mental health support, with 160,000 waiting over a year. 🏙️ Over 345,000 people have waited more than a year for their first mental health appointment. That’s more than the population of Leicester. 🐁 Patients told Lord Darzi about being on a ward with just 2 showers for 20 people. And that’s alongside broken laundry facilities and mice infestations. People tell us mental health wards are often ‘cold’ and even ‘prison-like’. This all comes at a time when The Lampard Inquiry - the largest inquiry into inpatient mental health care - has just begun. That inquiry is investigating the deaths of thousands in mental health hospitals Essex. We’ve seen some progress recently, with the Mental Health Act included in the King’s Speech. But this is just the start - we need to see serious action. We’re ready, willing and able to work with the UK government to modernise the system and make sure it supports the people who desperately need it. Our helplines and local services show us what needs fixing and we're already working hard to deliver support for the people who desperately need it.