So you’ve decided that you want to help other people who are struggling with their mental health, but are unsure how to go about doing so. Maybe you have suffered from mental health problems in the past and understand what it’s like to struggle to keep your head above water? Perhaps a loved one has lived with mental health problems for many years, and you know what it’s like to watch a loved one struggling to lead a normal life because of their mental health. Whatever your reason for wanting to help people who are suffering from mental health problems, it doesn’t matter, all that matters is that you find a way to make a difference.
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Today, mental health problems are more common than ever before. In the UK, anxiety and depression are the two most common mental health problems. At one point or another in their lifetime, one in six adults will suffer from a mental health problem. That means that around 10.6 million people in the UK currently suffer from some form of mental health problem, and that number is rising every year. The question that a lot of people are asking themselves is how can I help? The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can make a difference when it comes to mental health, here are some suggestions:
Volunteer at a local charity
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A great way to make a difference to the lives of people suffering from mental health problems is to volunteer your skills at a local mental health charity. If you have free time that you’re happy to give up to help others, then volunteering could be the answer. Volunteering at a local charity could mean all sorts of things, it could mean offering free counselling to people who are struggling with their mental health problems, it could mean running the charity’s social media pages and blog for free, it could mean volunteering in their charity shop. You don’t necessarily have to work directly with people suffering from mental health problems, you can help by doing other things, so if you’re not a great communicator or listener, don’t worry because you can still help.
Be an online listener
Another way that you can help people suffering from mental health problems is to become an online listener. If you’ve only got a small amount of free time to offer, then you can become an online listener. There are various websites that you can sign up to as a listener which allows you to listen to other people’s worries and concerns via an online chat. There are also apps that you can sign up to that allows you to listen to other people’s worried via an app instant messenger. It might not seem like you are doing much but even by listening to someone else’s worried and concerns you can make life easier for them. If you’re going to become an online listener, it’s a good idea to undergo some training first, to make sure that you’re equipped to deal with whatever comes your way. Most mental health support sites and apps offer training, but it’s best to double check before signing up.
Become a mental health nurse
If you want to spend the majority of your time focusing on helping people with mental health problems, then your best bet is to become a mental health nurse. Yes, it will require training and experience, but it’s an incredible way to make a difference. To get an idea of what the role will involve, take the time to browse mental health nurse job vacancies to see what each role involves – this should give you an idea of whether you’re a good fit for the type of work that you would be doing. Being a mental health nurse is a great way to help those suffering from a mental health problem, but it’s important to realise that it’s not a role that’s a good fit for everyone. So you need to determine whether you’ve got what it takes to work with people suffering from mental health problems day in, day out.
Spread awareness
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Another way that you can help people with mental health problems is to spread awareness. A lot of people are unaware of how many people mental health problems affect and don’t understand what they can do to help friends or loved one who are currently struggling. By spreading awareness about mental health, you can make it easier for people who suffer from mental health problems to get the help and support that they need. It’s not always easy to spread awareness about a certain topic, but it has become slightly easier thanks to the internet and social media. The best way to spread awareness is to share and create information that can be referred to as and when it’s needed, such as informative blog posts.
Run courses
If you want to take a more hands-on approach to helping people suffering from mental health problems, perhaps you could run courses to help with management. There are facilities all over the country that run successful anger management and anxiety management courses among others, that you could replicate in your local area. The fact is that a lot of mental health problems can be effectively managed, giving sufferers the opportunity to lead a normal life. It’s just a case of making sure that the help and support is available to them, which is where running courses come in. If you’re willing to get the qualifications to run these courses, you can make a big difference to the lives of many people within your local community. You could even opt to run online courses, helping people much further afield than just in your local area.
So there you have it, a few suggestions of ways that you can help people suffering from mental health problems. The fact is that mental health problems are becoming more and more common, which is why there needs to be more help and support available.