Our mental health strongly affects our daily lives, as well as our ability do the things we need and want to, including work, study, getting on with people and looking after ourselves and others. Another way to think about mental health is like thinking about the weather. As the seasons change, the weather does too.
There are bright and sunny days which make us feel happy and want to do things like going outdoors, but on other days the weather can change to darker, rainy days, where you don’t feel like leaving the house. Like the weather, your mental health can go through periods of positive and bright bursts of energy, and it can also dip and drag you down a darker road. You may feel tired and lack motivation or energy to do the simple things, such as getting out of bed or getting on with your day.
Whatever you are feeling, know that this is completely normal, and you can seek support or speak to family and friends about how you are feeling. Many people are reluctant to talk about their feelings and their mental health – there is still a stigma around it. Ironically, not sharing our feelings with anyone, or even knowing what they are, can make our mental health worse.
Talking can help us find hope again, and feel closer to other people. When our mental health is not so good, life feels more of a struggle. We might often feel sad or tearful, and hopeless and exhausted. We might feel under unbearable stress, or often worried about bad things happening to us or people we care about. All of these are very common experiences. Feeling down, anxious or stressed can mean we don’t have much energy for activities such as work or study, ‘life admin’ and looking after ourselves and others. It can be hard to keep going.
Feeling like this for a while could be a sign that something else in our lives is wrong, or that we need help. It is also a natural reaction, if we’ve had a major loss or shock, such as bereavement, unemployment, divorce or a serious health problem. Some things are easier to change and some problems may be beyond our control. Sometimes we need help, with our mental health or with the situations causing us to struggle – for instance, debts or relationship problems. In these situations, the sooner we get support, the better.
Whilst PCS are very supportive of time to talk day, we are going one better and are opening up our drop-in session which usually runs on a Tuesday 5pm-8pm to all of our staff each day throughout February for drop in’s. You can contact the counsellor between 5pm and 7pm each day Monday to Friday with any question or just for a confidential chat.
