By Isle of Wight Observer
Everyone will experience stress in their lifetime but often it’s how we handle and manage those stresses which can impact our health.
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from May 14 to May 20 and this year’s theme focuses on stress and stress management.
On the Island, an event is being held at the start of the week to showcase the help that is on offer.
On Monday May 14 a drop-in session to find out more about the support available on the Island has been arranged by the IOW CCG, the IOW NHS Trust, IOW Council and members of the voluntary sector.
It takes place at the Riverside Centre, in Newport, from 12.30pm to 3pm.
And on Wednesday 16 May members of the mental health services transformation team will be at Aspire in Trinity Buildings, Dover Street, Ryde between 2pm and 4pm. They would like to meet with people who have used, are using or would like to use the services, or their carers/ families, to hear any ideas or suggestions about how mental health services on the Island can be improved.
Gillian Baker, director of strategy and partnerships at the CCG, said: “We all experience stress in our lives and it can be caused by a range of things, such as worrying about work, finances, family and home life and pressure to juggle lots of different things.
“For some people stress can lead to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and in more severe cases self-harm or suicide.
“The number of people who are affected is significant – of the island’s 144,720 population, around 16,220 people live with depression, 7,589 people deal with anxiety and 5,735 people struggle with both.
“The important thing to remember is we all get stressed, but tackling how we handle stress can go a long way to improving our mental health.”
The Isle of Wight CCG, Trust and Council, together with partners and those who use our services, have developed a draft mental health blueprint, which is a document setting out our vision of how we need to improve mental health and wellbeing and improve our mental health services on the Island.
We are still keen to hear from you on this. Please take a look at the blueprint and share your thoughts online: http://www.isleofwightccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/mental-health-blueprint, or by telephone on 01983 822099 x5457 or in writing to Mental Health Commissioning Team, IOW CCG, The Apex, St Cross Business Park, Newport, IOW, PO30 5WN, or talk to us about it at the drop in session at the Riverside.
