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35
PROMOTING POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health is important for all of us, we catch up with Khalid Ali a public Governor for the Birmingham and
Solihull mental health NHS foundation trust to talk about positive mental health.
There has been a push towards positive mental
health – what does positive mental mean?
Positive mental health is part of mental wellbeing.
Feeling happy is a part of it, but far from whole.
Feelings of contentment, enjoyment, confidence and
engagement with the world are all part of positive mental
health. Self-esteem and self-confidence are, too. So is a
feeling that you can do the things you want to do. And so are
good relationships, which bring joy to you and those around
you. Of course, positive mental health well being does not
mean that you never experience feelings or situations that
you will find difficult. But it does mean that you will feel
that you the resilience to cope when times are tougher than
usual. It can help to think “positive mental health being” as
something you do, rather than something you are. The more
you put in, the more you’re likely to get out. No one can give
positive mental health to you. It’s you who has to take action.
Here are five positive mental health wellbeing steps that can
really help to boost our positive mental health:
Connect –
Connect with the people around you: your family,
friends, colleagues and neighbours. Spend time
developing these relationships.
Be active –
You don’t have to go to the gym. Take a walk, go
cycling or play a game of football. Find an activity that
you enjoy and make it a part of your life.
Keep learning –
Learning new skills can give you a sense of
achievement and a new confidence. So why not sign
up for that cooking course, start learning top play a
musical instrument or figure out how to fix your bike?
Give to others –
Even the smallest act can count whether it’s a smile, a
thank you for a kind word. Larger acts as volunteering
at your local community centre can improve your
mental health wellbeing and help you build new social
networks.
Be mindful-
Be more aware of the present moment, including
your thoughts and feelings, your body and the
world around you. Some people call this awareness
“mindfulness”. It can positively change the way you
feel about life and how you approach challenges.
Stigma unfortunately is still attached to mental health, what
is the NHS doing to combat this and how can we help to
reduce the stigma?
Firstly, we need to identify what stigma is. Three out of
four people with a mental illness report that they have
experienced stigma. When a person is labelled by their
illness they are seen as part of a stereotyped group. Negative
attitudes create prejudice which leads to negative actions
and discrimination. Stigma brings experiences and feelings
of shame, blame, hopelessness, distress, misrepresentation
within the media, reluctance to seek and/or accept necessary
help.
Families are also affected by stigma, leading to a lack of
support. For mental health professionals, stigma means that
they Simple ways to help include:
•Learn and share the facts about mental health and illness
• Get to know people with personal experiences of mental
illness
•Speak up in protest when friends, family colleagues or the
media display false beliefs and negative stereotypes
•Offer the same support to people when they are physically
or mentally unwell
• Don’t label or judge people with a mental illness, treat them
with respect and dignity as you would anyone else
• Don’t discriminate when it comes to participation, housing
and employment
• Talk openly of your own experience of mental illness.
The more hidden mental illness remains, the more people
continue to believe that it is shameful and needs to be
concealed
For local support and information services, I would advise you to search for mental health support services or mental health
support services for young people. This will be based on the vicinity of your area.
If you want to talk to someone right away, search for the mental health helpline which has a list of organisations you can call for
immediate assistance. These are helplines with specially trained volunteers who’ll listen to you, understand what you’re going
through, and help you through the immediate crisis. The Samaritans operates a service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for people
who want to talk in confidence. Call them on 08457 90 90 90