Mental health is something that applies to all of us. Whether we feel mentally healthy or unwell, everyone’s had a bad day. Whether that day turns into a month, a year, or more, we all need help sometimes. This help can come in the form of a chat with a friend or something more specialised. There are services out there for anyone who suffers with poor mental health.?
Mind is a growing charity within the UK. They offer mental health support and various wellbeing services. These include drop-in sessions, support services, community resilience training and activity groups. Mind runs an array of activity groups. One of these is an art group. Another is a creative hub, a Level 1 arts-based group where everyone works on a creative project, ranging from finger drawing to textiles. At the end, the participants receive an Agored Cymru qualification. There is also a Craft Club, which is open only to women. Their wellbeing support service offers up to 8 support sessions, conducted either face to face or through a phone call. They incorporate elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). All of these are open to self-referral.?
Where Mind cannot help, they provide links to organisations that can. These include the bereavement service At a Loss, the Samaritans, and Area 43 - a service aimed at 16–25-year-olds who need support. In some cases, the only option is to go to your GP and get a referral to a specialist service through them. Going to a counsellor and gathering evidence of your disorder is a good way of guaranteeing that referral. Mind has an extensive and accurate database of disorders that people may experience. An example would be Mind’s page about dissociative identity disorder. It suggests ways in which those who experience the disorder can look after themselves.
Many are hesitant to use mental health services due to a lack of support, endless waiting times, or blatant incompetence on part of the organisations meant to help. The current waiting list lies within 18 weeks of referral, but as an adult, mental health services are much different. You should be made aware of what to expect with your service. As an adult you can advocate for yourself. This may sound tiring... but who knows you better than yourself?
Mind also offers an in-person drop-in service between 13:30-16 on Wednesdays if you want to figure out whether they will be able to help you or not.
There is also Aberystwyth's student wellbeing service that can be contacted though studentwellbeing@aber.ac.uk?
All of the information in this article is from the Mind website.
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