Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week highlights the need for reflection, conversation, while challenging the stigma around accessing support and what that looks like today.

At Open Door we understand that your mental health can shift over a course of an hour to a day to weeks. Often meeting yourself in that head space, acknowledging how you feel and taking steps for yourself to improve your mood and wellbeing in small impactful ways can be the approach for better mental health and wellbeing.

Here are 5 ways to improve your mental health and wellbeing 1 step at a time:

1. Talking – confide in a trusted friend, family member, or colleague in a comfortable space. Acknowledging you might not be feeling okay or like your usual self is often the first step to improving your mental health. See where the conversation takes you and feel a little lighter after sharing.

2. Taking a walk in nature -touching grass so to speak- and reconnecting with the outside. This can make space for meditation, breathing slower and helping you focus more on how you feel without distractions or responsibilities- even 15 minutes can help steer your brain into calmer vibes.

3. Create future plans –  make a future plan to look forward to, a simple coffee and sweet treat at a local café, a facetime call with someone who fills up your cup, or cook a meal that feels like home. A simple plan for a future date can have you looking forward and shift ruminating on the past or negative head space.

4. Move your body – move in intuitive ways. If you feel stressed try a beginners yoga flow on YouTube, or go for a walk locally. If you have anxiety and feel agitated, attempt a more engaging movement like a jog, run or dance. Find a movement that helps you release some tension or calms those thoughts.

5. Seek support – If you still feel like you have low mood, depression, and anxiety, seek support. At Open Door we can find tailored support for you through our multiple programmes below that are accessible, no waiting lists or referrals are needed to access our support.

Bazaar – Open to ages 14-35 year olds, for low mood, depression and anxiety, 8 session programme of in person support.

Mysa  – Open to ages 18 and over, for anyone struggling with eating disorders, 1:1 support and group support is available.

OOMOO – For ages 10-18 years old, for those who are looked after or have Special Guardianship Order in Wirral. OOMOO is a wellbeing, mental health service that provides weekly wellbeing activities and 1:1 mental health support. There is also support for care givers and guardians to help with transitioning members to OOMOO and mental health support for yourselves.

Branch – For ages 0-18, for children or parents seeking mental health signposting and local information to get the right support tailored to the individual.