This years theme for mental health awareness is nature. Research shows that simply being around nature, feeling nature and embracing it provides us with many benefits to our mental health.

There are many types of different forms of mental health and they effect more people than you may think.

The stats provided by mind.org.uk say the results are;

• Mixed anxiety and depression: 8 in 100 people
• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD): 6 in 100 people
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): 4 in 100 people
• Depression: 3 in 100 people
• Phobias: 2 in 100 people
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): 1 in 100 people
• Panic disorder: fewer than 1 in 100 people
• Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD): 3 in 100 people (in their lifetime)
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD): 2 in 100 people (in their lifetime)
• Bipolar disorder: 2 in 100 people (in their lifetime)
• Psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia): fewer than 1 in 100 people (in any given year)

A diagnosis can also change numerous times during someone's life so its important to keep talking about this and seeking help if needed.  Only 1 in 8 adults with any of these mental health problems are actually getting treatment. 

It is believed that 1 in 5 people will have suicidal thoughts and 1 in 15 people will also attempt suicide. This is a frightening amount of people. Men are also 3 times more likely to take their own life than women.

We thought  it would be nice to ask all of our employees how they have coped when feeling low or overwhelmed and to even share some insights to their lives, perhaps tips on how they look after their mental health, and of course any pictures they have bringing themselves and nature closer together.  As a company we feel it's good to talk and we encourage colleagues to openly talk to each other as you never know what the other person is going through.

One of our employees has said he tried to look at being in lockdown and furloughed in a positive way. He wanted to use the opportunity to spend more time with his family, and I am sure many people have been able to do the same. He gave us some of his own pictures of his children feeding the ducks and also said how each day himself and his children would see a little Robin come to his garden to feed. 

Ellie, who is also  member at Hartwell has told us how she managed to keep her mind positive and body active has said " I’m sure like a lot of people, walking was a big part of 2020 for me through various lockdowns. A perfect time to clear the mind, enjoy the sunshine (or English rain depending on the day!), and get the ol’ serotonin flowing through exercise. Across a series of weekly social-distanced walks with friends, I completed the “OAR” (Outer Aylesbury Ring) walking route across Buckinghamshire countryside and did a total of over 100km! A fun challenge that kept us going through tough times. Definitely can’t recommend enough a good walk with good friends, especially on those more difficult days".

Ellie has a cat called Milo who is just a year old as he loves to explore the outdoors with her, she has shared some pictures of their adventures with us. 

Ellie also recommended this Instagram page which makes her feel happy to look at and makes her feel inspired. Take a look yourself and see what you think.

https://www.instagram.com/thehappynewspaper/

It's important to try and speak out about any feelings we have and you'll be amazed at how many others are perhaps feeling the same.  Some tips to keeping a healthy mind is to do the following;

• Talk to someone about how you are feeling
• Keeping active is proven to help, even as simple as going for a walk around the block.
• Eat well
• Drink sensibly
• Do an activity that makes you feel good or that you are good at.
• Seek new hobbies
• Most importantly, ask for help.

We would like to hear any of your stories on how you deal with any mental health issues, do you have anything that helps you think positively or any activities that help you?