In a lot of places, all over the world, Mental Health is still somewhat of a taboo topic, even though in the UK alone 16 million people suffer from ill mental health every year. This shocking statistic seems to be on the rise as more and more people suffer from depression, anxiety, panic disorders, addiction, psychosis, bipolar disorder and personality disorders.
Unfortunately, most reports suggest that there are still many more undiagnosed cases of ill mental health all over the world. If someone believes to be struggling with poor mental health then suffering in silence is the worst thing they can do. Talking about it is the first step to recovery. This doesn’t have to be with a doctor straight away, it could be with friends or family members first as they will be able to help too.
Mental health affects 1 in 4 people in the UK and one of the ways that we can start to reduce that number is by increasing the awareness of mental health, for both men and women all over the world. There has been an amazing movement and trend recently that has really helped with battling poor mental health; Mindfulness.
But what is Mindfulness? This is defined as ‘the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique’. The simpler version is that Mindfulness is simply a way of calming the body, reducing stress and improving happiness through the means of meditation and relaxation. This is a relatively new subject in the western world but has been around for thousands years, tracing back to early Buddhist teachings.
Some people are put off by Mindfulness as they think you have to spend hours a day meditating, take yoga classes and go long hikes in the valleys, and although these all do help, they aren’t the only way you can improve mental health. What many don’t realise is that they can make small changes at home to improve this too. Our homes are a place of relaxation, a shelter away from the stresses of the world. However, some people are sadly guilty of making their home as trendy as possible and losing focus of what really matters; comfort, serenity and calm. You can find lots of great tips from experts on all the little things you can do at home to help practice Mindfulness here.
It’s important people know as much about mental health as possible to hopefully, one day, erase the taboo and stigma that some people feel comes with having a mental health problem. The more people know about it then the more people will talk about it, thus helping to shatter the illusion that mental health isn’t a disease. Please find below an infographic with facts and figures that is there to shed some light on the current state of mental health within the UK and how Mindfulness can help.
