Mental Health Awareness Week: Why opening up to others about loneliness is so important
Mental Health Awareness Week has kicked off in the UK which will see a focus on the issue of ‘loneliness’ this year.
This will last between May 9 and May 15 and will see charities and resources invested in the practical steps in overcoming loneliness as well as various other mental health issues.
Figures from the Samaritans show that calls to Samaritans mentioning loneliness and isolation have increased by more than a fifth in two years as well as a survey revealing that far more young people feeling lonely and isolated compared to over-55s.
Samaritans’ ambassador and TV Presenter Scarlett Moffatt marked the start of mental health awareness week, she said: “Sometimes it can feel like there is a negative stigma around admitting that you are lonely, but it is something that most people will have experienced at one point in their life.
“There is no shame in feeling alone, and it is okay to talk about it.”
Uni Aston, a Twitter page set up by two former students who previously struggled with mental health issues in the past, an anonymous service as well as a WhatsApp group chat that allows others to share their experiences.
John* from Uni Aston gave some tips on how to cope with loneliness along with how he managed to overcome his mental health issues, He said: “I opened up a bit to my family and they were good to be fair, but obviously they were not there the entire day.
“I saw a therapist at my university and they put in place different ideas on how to cope with it and how to sort of deal with what I was going through and different strategies.
“I slowly started opening up to some new friends I made through university, they were supportive, and we just got into a safe space and we all just said right we are going to therapy for x, y and z and that sort of made me feel like I was not the only person going through it.”
For help contact @UniAston through their Twitter as well as organisations such as the Samaritans on 116 123, Glasgow Students Nightline on 0141 334 9516, and Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87.
All brilliant services that can help people and offer advice or a chat if they are struggling with mental health battles.
*name changed.
