Mental Health Awareness Week 2022: Help is at hand

What is Mental Health Awareness Week?

Mental Health Awareness Week provides an opportunity for the UK to recognise the importance of mental health. Started 21 years ago by The Mental Health Foundation each year it focuses on a different theme, this year is loneliness. The main goal of Mental Health Awareness Week is to start conversations about mental health, but also to help people build meaningful connections with friends, family, colleagues and communities. 

Why the focus on loneliness?

Most of us may have felt lonely in the last few years - particularly during the pandemic with restrictions limiting people from seeing their family and friends. A survey conducted during the pandemic by The Mental Health Foundation found that one in four adults in the UK had experienced feelings of loneliness throughout the pandemic.

Although feelings of loneliness don’t always affect our mental health in the short-term, long-term loneliness brings an increased risk of a range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and increased stress. Whilst the pandemic restrictions may be over, for some these mental health problems have persisted.

Why is our mental health important? 

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. 

Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through to adulthood. However, our recent 'Help Is At Hand' campaign research shows that men tend to stop asking those closest to them for help at around 18 years old.

This can be due to the stigmatisation of mental health in society, with 26% of us admitting to feeling ashamed to be having a mental health problem, and 85% of people admitting that they have failed to mention to someone they trust that they are suffering with a situation linked to mental health. 

How do you know if someone's struggling with their mental health?

There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to mental health, but being aware of some of the signs and knowing what to watch out for could be the helping hand someone needs. If you suspect someone you know could be struggling with their mental health, look out for some of these common signs:

• Excessive worrying or fear
• Feeling excessively sad or low
• Extreme mood changes
• Avoiding friends and social activities
• Changes in sleeping or eating habits

Remember, there are lots of other signs, if you or someone you know may be struggling with mental health, check out the full list of NHS symptoms.

Male mental health…

New research for our 'Help is at hand' campaign with Family Action reveals that 37% of men admit they're feeling the pressures of family life more than ever before. Financial difficulties caused by the rising cost of living, worrying about what the future holds, and concerns about children who have fallen behind as a result of the pandemic are topping the list of things men are most worried about. However, even though people are experiencing heightened anxiety, 81% of men admit to hiding their problems from those closest to them.

 

Need a helping hand?

We’ve launched a new initiative called 'help is at hand' with our charity partner, Family Action, to help encourage men in particular to ask for help. 

We're doing this by raising awareness of how Family Action's FamilyLine service could help, and making it simple and easy for all the customers, staff and visitors of LV= branded bodyshops up and down the country to access this help if and when they need it.

Although our LV= branded bodyshops are inclusive employers, abiding to our Green Heart Standard, they're made up of predominantly male team members. That's why we wanted to lend a helping hand to them this Mental Health Awareness Week and beyond.

So, we've installed a number of LV= green phones across our partner garages in the UK, to raise awareness of, and give our teams and members of the public direct access to, FamilyLine resources.

All visitors to our garages will need to do is scan the QR code placed on the phone to be taken directly to the Family Action website where they can access the support they need via the FamilyLine service.

What is FamilyLine?

FamilyLine provides a listening ear, helping answer particular parenting questions or providing guidance around more complex family issues. 

Support is available via telephone, text message or email and, most importantly, it is provided completely free of charge.

How to get in touch:

Call: 0808 802 6666
Text: 07537 404 282
Email: [email protected]
Mon-Fri, 9am to 9pm

Or, you can see what help is available to you through their website.