Mental Health Awareness Week – Monday 9 May to Sunday 15 May 2022
Saint Paul’s is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week, Monday 9 May until Sunday 15 May 2022. The week focuses on the experience of loneliness, its effect on our mental health and how we can all play a part in reducing loneliness in our communities.
The week aims to raise awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental wellbeing and the practical steps we can take to address it. Reducing loneliness is a major step towards a mentally healthy society.
“If you want to reduce the feelings of loneliness, taking small steps is okay. For example, talk to someone like parents or friends that you trust and are close to. You could go out with them for something small like a tea and coffee or just something nice.”
Peer Education Project
Mark Rowland Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation said:
“We hope this year’s theme of loneliness will strike a chord with many of us who felt lonely and struggled throughout the Covid pandemic.
“Millions of us experience loneliness from time to time. We know that some people are at higher risk of experiencing loneliness and the evidence shows the longer we feel lonely, the more we are at risk of mental health problems.
“Loneliness deserves more attention and we’re calling on everyone who has struggled as a result of being lonely to share their experiences. We must work together – as individuals, as a society and through government policy – to reduce loneliness and prevent mental health problems by investing in welcoming, social spaces and new community initiatives.”
