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Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing

What is it?

Good mental health is a sense of wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem. It enables us to fully enjoy and appreciate other people, day to day life and our environment.

What can affect my mental health?

It can be useful to understand mental health and well being as being a continuum naturally fluctuating in response to life events and situations e.g. job loss, family breakdown, bereavement. People will respond differently to these issues and it is important to recognise that these experiences can have an impact on our mental health.

What is mental ill health?

Anyone can experience mental ill health in the same way as we can experience physical ill health, this can be mild, moderate or severe. It is estimated that one in four people in Northern Ireland will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. It is important to seek help if you are concerned about yourself or someone else.

  • Where can I find help?

    Contact your Doctor (GP)

    If you are concerned about your own mental health contact your GP, who can help you decide what level of support you need. They will be able to refer you into Mental Health services if necessary.

    Lisburn Wellbeing Hub

    At the Lisburn Wellbeing Hub we work in partnership with a range of local self-help and talking therapy services to improve emotional health.

    Connect with the Hub if you would like support with low mood, stress or anxiety. Referrals come from GP surgeries in the Lisburn area.

    Ask your GP for details if you are registered with a surgery in the Lisburn area. Our staff will contact you to discuss your emotional health and wellbeing needs and will support you in connecting with a range of local self-help and talking therapy services.

    You can contact the Hub by Telephone: (028) 9598 8003 or by email: wellbeing.hub@setrust.hscni.net

    Phone lines are monitored Monday – Thursday 9.00am – 1.30pm and our email address is monitored periodically.

    For urgent enquiries please contact your GP or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.

    Wellness Recovery Network

    The Wellness Recovery Network is led by people with lived experience of various mental health issues who have been on a journey of hope, recovery and finding a sense of wellness after being in a place of total despair. What makes us different is that anyone can attend the Network as we believe Wellness is for everyone.

    It aims to achieve:

    – Support conversations about mental health away from stigma.
    – Promote recovery and champion individuality.
    – Embrace wellness and wellbeing.
    – Make connections with like-minded people.
    – Nurture hope, control and opportunity.

    Click here to learn more.

    Lifeline

    Lifeline is a crisis response helpline service operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you are in distress or despair and talk to a trained counsellor in confidence.

    Telephone: 0808 808 8000

    Deaf and hard of hearing text phone users can call Lifeline on  0808 808 8000 or www.lifelinehelpline.info

    Helpline Network

    This provides contact details for a range of NI bases helplines, offering free information and advice at www.helplinesnetworkni.com

    Occupational Health

    If you work, your employer may provide an occupational health service where you can get help and support.

    Talk to a family member or friend

    Sometimes it can be a relief just to tell someone that you are struggling. Your friends care about you and can often offer a different way of looking at the problem.

    Get online

  • Protecting your mental health and emotional wellbeing (Take 5)
    We all have a sense of when we are feeling mentally and physically well. But sometimes we need a gentle nudge to look after ourselves and to stay well. The ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ are about taking action and making conscious and deliberate choices to look after our wellbeing. The ideas that follow are simple evidence based actions that are applicable to people in all walks of life.

    With one in four people today experiencing mental health distress during their lifetime, there’s never been a better time for you to take responsibility for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.
    With the people around you - with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours, at home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.
    If you are a carer or involved in a caring role, you may have lots of contact that relates to supporting others. This can lead to loss of contact opportunities, people and things to support you.

    As with all things in life a balance is needed. We should try and seek out ‘positive’ connections to balance time spent with distress.

    By making choices and consciously attending to the connections we make, we can become more control of our lives. Take up the driving seat and become committed to living well
    Being well connected is associated with increased mental health and wellbeing.
    Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

    It can be hard to feel motivated to learn all the time, especially if because of our work or other roles we are told we have to learn something specific, whether we are interested or not. If this has been your experience and your interest in learning has been ‘spoiled’, it can be rediscovered.

    Learning new skills and practising and refining old ones are keys to both personal and professional growth. It keeps us interested and focused, breaking the monotony of life and opening new possibilities
    A life style that includes valuing learning is positively associated with mental health and wellbeing.
    People who are active have improved mental health and wellbeing. Go for a walk or run. Step outside, cycle, play a game, garden, dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.
    Different people engage in different forms and different levels of activity. Being active is important for both our physical and mental health. Small changes in levels of activity can make a big difference. Just 10 minutes of physical activity has been shown to be beneficial for mental wellbeing.

    Sometimes people feel guilty about taking a break from their work/role to do physical activity. It can be seen as wasting valuable time which could be spent doing what needs done.

    In actual fact when we take a 5 minute break to positively refresh ourselves, we can end up in a more resourceful state and then use our time more productively.
    Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the seasons as they change. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

    Most of us are fairly busy. Our mind is active throughout the day. We constantly seem to be doing something. We focus on the next step and the next task in hand.

    Mostly we forget to take notice, to be aware and mindful of our surroundings. To take notice is to be in the present, in the here and now and to tune in not only to our bodily sensations, our breathing and our experiences but also to what is going on in our surroundings.
    Remember, the value of taking action, doing something. Notice when we are connecting, notice when we are active, notice when we are learning something new. Notice when we are giving. Choose to feel good about the action we are taking. Taking notice, being aware and mindful is associated with mental health and wellbeing.
    Do something nice for a friend, or stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself and your happiness as linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.
    Every relationship is one of give and take. The more we give the more we receive. Giving is associated with mental wellbeing.

    There is a difference though in giving for the sake of politeness, obligation or duty and giving because your intention is to feel good and make the other person feel good. When you are in the frame of mind in which you feel good in the very act of giving, this is going to enhance your wellbeing and can contribute to the wellbeing of the person whose life you touch.

    When you give, give openly and from the heart. There are many opportunities to give in small ways every day. For example:

    • Giving a smile, a compliment, encouragement
    • Giving a hand, giving away to another car
    • Giving your time, a silent wish or prayer
    • Give yourself the gift of connecting, being active, of noticing
    • Give thanks, being grateful for whatever good is happening in your life

    Some people say that they find giving easy but don’t feel as comfortable to receive. This can be especially true when it comes to compliments. Giving is a two way process – you acceptance of what someone else gives is good for them as well as you. By becoming more comfortable with the give and take of everyday life we build ourselves up as well as give opportunities to others. People who enjoy giving and are open to receiving have improved mental health and wellbeing.
  • Training

    What training is available?

    A range of free Mental Health Training is available to anyone living or working in the South Eastern Trust Area.

    The training includes:

    • Mental Health First Aid: 2 full days training
    • Safe TALK: 3-4 hours training
    • ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training): 2 full days
    • Understanding Self -harm: 3-4 hours
    • Engage for Young Men: 1 full day
    • Low level CBT: 1 full day
    • Positive Steps T4T – 4 hours
    • Take 5 T4T – 3 hours

    For further information or to book a place please contact Eileen Young on Eileen.Young@setrust.hscni.net

    Recovery College

    The college run a number of co-produced educational courses and workshops. These are available to people who use the South Eastern HSC Trust services, their supporters (family, friends or carers) and staff.

    Positive Steps Programme

    Positive Steps is a flexible and interactive mental health promotional programme that can be used with virtually any group. This 10 step programme encourages people to look at life, to discover what influences their health and provides practical opportunities to enhance mental health and emotional wellbeing.

    For further information contact: Laura.McAllister2@setrust.hscni.net

    Take 5 Ambassador Training 

    The Take 5 Ambassador Training raises awareness and understanding of the Take 5 concept and provides resources necessary to disseminate this message to their local community.

    This resource was developed by the Belfast Strategic Partnership to promote Take 5 to individual, communities and organisations. It can be downloaded at www.makinglifebettertogether.com

    A range of resources are available including the following leaflets:

    • Take 5
    • Everybody Hurts Sometime – Lifeline Flyer
    • Steps to deal with stress
    • Promoting positive mental health a work guide for employers
    • What happens in the Emergency Department- A patients guide
    • Improving the lives of people who self –harm
    • Caring for someone who has self-harmed or has suicidal thoughts – a family guide
    • Bereaved by Suicide Support Service
    • Directory of services to help improve mental health and emotional wellbeing- SE Trust area Z card

    The resources for the South Eastern H&SC Trust are stored in CRIS in Knockbracken, Belfast. To order materials please contact Gerard Ranaghan Telephone (028)9504 4846 or email: Gerald.ranaghan@belfastrust.hscni.net

  • Useful Resources, Links and Self-Help Guides

    Resources

    Self-Help Guides

    Self-help guides can be found at www.covidwellbeingni.info

    Links
    www.mindingyourhead.info
    www.livingworks.net
    www.lifelinehelpline.info
    www.samaritans.org
    www.mentalhealth.org.uk
    www.NHS.uk
    www.helplinesnetworkni.com

  • Campaigns

    Regional Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Campaign 2022

    Creating Hope Through Action 

    Building on the success of last year’s Autumn Campaign, the six Health Trusts in Northern Ireland have worked in partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA) to develop a campaign that will encourage people across the region to embrace and demonstrate this year’s theme Creating Hope Through Action.

    Thanks to everyone who got involved last year to make the campaign such a huge success, we hope this will continue with even more actions in 2022.  We are inviting our Community and Voluntary partners to get involved in the campaign which will run for five weeks, between 10 September (World Suicide Prevention Day) and 10 October (World Mental Health Day).

    The last few years have been difficult and we realise more than ever the importance of connecting with each other. The community and voluntary sector are already well established as local champions, regularly demonstrating very practical ways that people can take action, by implementing the Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing.

    We’d love you to support the campaign! Here are a few suggestions on how you can get involved:

    • Set up a ‘Camerado’ public living room.  We have teamed up with the Camerado Movement, a worldwide organisation which supports people to set up a public living room in their local community.  This is a comfortable place where people look out for each other and connect human to human.  Camerados will provide a fully funded pack and guidance to help you set up your Public Living Room.  See the attached flyer, download the Camerados Picture Book or contact yvonne@camerados.org for more information
    • Organise a Coffee and Connect event to promote the campaign – a really simple way to get together with others and connect.  We have developed a guide to help you plan your event and some printable resources to get you started. You can find these here.
    • Organise another type of event to help people connect and demonstrate how people could take action, to create hope.

    You can contact your local Health Trust Lead (Laura.mcallister2@setrust.hscni.net )to receive materials which may be available to support your event – just complete the registration form and return to (Brien.Frazer@setrust.hscni.net) .  We look forward to working with you and let’s spread a message of hope in our communities this Autumn.

    If you are organising an event and posting information on your social media channels, please use this year’s campaign tag so we can share and promote your event. #HopeThroughAction22

    All campaign information can be found on the Minding Your Head website

    Resources:

    Camerado’s Poster

    Hope Through Action Campaign Flyer 

    Training:

    A range of mental health related training is available from both the Health Development Department, the Recovery College and Minding your Head.

    Click Here for “Minding your Head” training information.

    Click Here for the Recovery College training information.

    Mental Health Training Brochure

    The Health Development Department delivers free mental health and suicide prevention training. This is open to anyone working or living in the South Eastern H&SC Trust area.

    The Recovery College offers free educational courses about mental health and recovery which are designed to increase your knowledge and skills and promote self-management. Courses are available to anyone with an interest in mental health and wellbeing. More information can be found at: https://setrust.hscni.net/service/recovery-college/