Mental Health Awareness Week: Together, we can tackle loneliness

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Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. The theme this year is loneliness, which I'm sure is something that many of us have experienced. 

One in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time. There’s no single cause and there’s no one solution. After all, we’re all different! But, the longer we feel lonely, the more we are at risk of mental health problems. Some people are also at higher risk of feeling lonely than others. 

(Mental Health Foundation)

Disability and loneliness

The charity Sense have found that levels of loneliness amongst disabled people have risen dramatically:

• Almost two thirds (61%) of disabled people are now chronically lonely, rising to 7 in 10 (70%) of young disabled people, according to new research conducted by the national disability charity, Sense.

• Over two thirds (70%) of disabled people say their mental health is affected by social isolation, raising concerns of a significant increase in mental health conditions.

Tips for if you're feeling lonely, and supporting others who may be lonely

Loneliness can sometimes feel impossible to deal with, but help is available. 

The Mental Health Foundation have put together some helpful tips on tackling loneliness

1. Try to do some enjoyable things that will keep you busy
2. Try to do things that stimulate your mind
3. Think about doing a physical activity
4. Try to engage with the people you meet in your daily life
5. Find people that ‘get you’
6. Spend time with pets
7. Try to use social media in a positive way
8. Talking therapies can help 

They've also come up with some ideas on how to support others who are feeling lonely:

1. Don’t judge or stigmatise
2. Try to make groups welcoming to other people
3. Try to listen and show understanding

(Mental Health Foundation)

Resources on the community

We hope that being a member of the community can help you to feel less lonely, whether that be through forming friendships in the coffee lounge, or realising that you're not alone in struggling with a challenge you're facing. 

By being an active member of the community, you're also helping to tackle loneliness. Each post and comment helps to make our community a friendly and welcoming place, showing others that they're not alone, and helping them to feel less isolated.

We've written quite a few posts about tackling loneliness over the years. I've put a few of them below:

• Coping with stress, low mood, and isolation
• What can we do about loneliness?
• Will you be lonely this Christmas? (this has some information that's useful all year round)
• Are you feeling lonely?
• Let's talk about loneliness

Over to you...

Have you experienced loneliness?

What helps you to feel less lonely?

Has loneliness affected your mental health?

What tips would you give to someone who might be feeling lonely?

Has the community helped you to feel less lonely?