Many people with good emotional and mental health are able to:
- be confident in themselves
- engage and interact with the world around them
- manage stress and change
- express their emotions
- play a positive role in their home and work life
Many things can affect your mental wellbeing, including unemployment, loneliness, physical illness, poor housing, poverty, discrimination, trauma and violence.
Evidence suggests that there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. These are known as the 5 ways to wellbeing. They are:
- connect
- be active
- keep learning
- give
- take notice
Counselling
Counselling is having a person taking a professional interest in your emotional wellbeing. They work to a strict code of ethics that has your interests at heart.
Take a look at the different kinds of counselling available.
Most counsellors will charge for their time and can be comparatively expensive in relation to befriending. However, they are doing very different work and will be trained to work with you and your psychological state closely.
Bereavement support
There is a range of contacts for bereavement, counselling and support. Search the Derbyshire Directory for a list of services, these include both national and local services. There are specialist services for:
The Derbyshire Bereavement Hubincludes details of a range of organisations offering free services to support bereaved people living in Derbyshire.
Pets can often be close companions and to lose a pet can be very distressing. Bereaved pet owners can get in touch with The Blue Cross and the Society for Companion Animal Studies for telephone and email support.
Victim support
Victim Support is an organisation that can support you following a crime being committed against you. They can also support you should you be required to attend court with their witness support team.
Check out the free services offered by Victim Support which are delivered by volunteers with paid co-ordinator support.
Emotional support local and national helplines
At times of stress it's often helpful to talk to someone who is not involved in your situation. A number of websites and helplines are available:
- Derbyshire mental health helpline (24 hours per day), tel: 0800 028 0077
- Derby and Derbyshire emotional health and wellbeing
- Carers Direct, tel: 0300 123 1053
- Samaritans, tel: 116 123
- Sane Line, tel: 0845 767 8000
- Mind Info Line, tel: 0300 123 3393
- Cruse Bereavement - Chesterfield, tel: 01246 550080
- Cruse Bereavement - Derby and South Derbyshire, tel: 01283 533362
- Domestic Abuse Helpline, tel: 0808 2000 247
- Support line, tel: 01708 765200
- Victim Support, tel: 0800 612 6505
- Anti Bullying Helpline, tel: 0845 22 55 787