World Mental Health Day 2018

World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October each year with the aim of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and encourage people to seek support.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is making residents aware that there are a number of services and sessions available in the East Riding to help and support people of all ages with mental health issues.

World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness of the silent disease, which can affect anyone at any time in their lives and this year the council is focusing on young people and mental health in a changing world.

Lindsay Shelbourn, public health lead for mental health and suicide prevention at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “The world we live in is changing; children and young people are facing different challenges to those their parents and carers faced.

“Fifty per cent of mental health problems are established by age 14, if left untreated this can have a severe impact into adulthood.

“It is vital we support our children and young people to build resilience and intervene early if we have concerns about their mental health.”

There are local services available in the East Riding of Yorkshire that aim to help people struggling with mental health issues.

Smoking cessation sessions

These sessions can help relieve stress, anxiety and depression and helps to give people a more positive outlook on life. These benefits apply to all smokers, not just those with pre-existing mental health problems. For more information please visit www.nhs.uk/smokefree

Fitmums and Friends Club

The athletics club and charity has launched a new club in Goole. The running club supports mums and dads in the community offer a range of distance runs from one to six miles and can help runners to achieve their goals, meet new people, socialise and have fun.

Laurie Fergusson, public health lead, said: “Fitmums and Friends offer not only the opportunity to get physically active but to also meet and socialise with new friends. The supportive atmosphere within the groups helps everyone to get the best out of the activities no matter what level of runner you are. Fitmums and Friends is open to men and women aged 16+.” For more information visit www.fitmums.org.uk or search for the group on Facebook.

Reading Well Scheme

Reading Well for young people is a national scheme, part of the hugely successful Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme, which provides 13-18 year-olds with high-quality information, support and advice on a wide-range of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm, and difficult life pressures, like bullying and exams.

1 in 10 young people have a diagnosable mental health issue therefore it’s important to support them with expert endorsed books available to borrow for free from East Riding libraries.

Mike McDermott, associate director of Public Health, said: “I am delighted that we are involved in this fantastic scheme that has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of young people.

“Not only is the scheme one example of how libraries can help people to improve their knowledge and scope of reading, it makes our local community a better place to be”.

To see the core reading list for Reading Well for your people and more information visit reading-well.org.uk/shelfhelp or www.eastriding.gov.uk

One in four people will be affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives. Therefore, it is important to speak to people and get involved in the services offered to help tackle the issues surrounding mental health and prevent more lives being lost.