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:
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.
Find out more about mental health here (Opens in a new window)
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 -
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 -
However, there are things we can do to help us improve our 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 -
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
Find support to help you stay healthy here.
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.
Find support to help you stay independent here
You may also like to find out more about the Five Ways to Wellbeing (opens in a new window) which is known to have a positive impact on people.
The NHS website also has a self-assessment tool which you can use if you think you may be suffering from depression.
Note - this simple tool is to get you to understand your mental wellbeing - If you think you have a serious mental health condition, contact your GP for a consultation.
Complete a self assessment for depression (Opens in a new window)
Social prescribing means helping people to improve their health wellbeing and social welfare by connecting them to their local community.
In Hull, this service is called ‘Connect Well’ and can offer you both welfare advice and connect to activities’ and services in your local community.
For some people with an identified mental health issue, maintaining good mental health may be more difficult and complex.
Some people may require additional support such as –
You can search our community support directory for befriending, counselling or therapy services.
Search for mental health support here
Only your GP can decide whether it would be beneficial for you to go onto medication for your mental health.
If your GP feels this is appropriate, make sure you ask any questions you may have about side effects and interactions with other substances such as alcohol or other prescribed medication.
Make sure you follow the instructions laid out to you by the GP and your prescription and if you have any doubts, ask your GP.
If you experience any side effects, note them down and make an appointment with your GP so they can review your medication
To help you understand a little bit more around medication, Mind have developed an A-Z information directory of medication and drug names.
You can either view the information online or download an information booklet that you can print off as a hard copy for you take read offline.
Find out more about different types of medication here (Opens in a new window)
In order to help you to gain a better understanding of mental health and how it may affect a person Mind have developed A-Z information directory. You can use the A-Z to help to find information on –
Most entries have an information booklet for you to download and view offline.
Access the Mind A-Z directory of information here (Opens in a new window)
Rethink Mental illness have a comprehensive advice and information section on their website where you can find out about different mental health conditions and symptoms.
Find information about mental health conditions here (Opens in a new window)
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.
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
More about the 'Time for change' campaign here (Opens in a new window)
