What is mental health? 🧐
Mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. Good mental health means being generally able to think, feel and react in the ways that you need and want to live your life. But if you go through a period of poor mental health you might find the ways you're frequently thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult, or even impossible, to cope with. This can feel just as bad as a physical illness, or even worse. There are many factors that can contribute towards poor mental health such as life experiences, isolation, substance abuse or even genetics.
1 in 4 people struggle with their mental health any given year. This an incredibly high amount of people yet conversations about mental health are still often seen as taboo. We at edyn.care want to get rid of all stigma surrounding mental health outreach and encourage you to speak up about any difficulties you or your clients may be having.
What are some of the warning signs? ⚠️
Knowing the warning signs that you or someone you know is struggling can mean finding appropriate help sooner before things can escalate. These may consist of, but are not limited to, behaviours such as:
Eating or sleeping too much or too little
Pulling away from people and usual activities
Having low or no energy
Feeling numb or like nothing matters
Having unexplained aches and pains
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
Yelling or fighting with family and friends
Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
Thinking of harming yourself or others
Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school
If you feel that you or someone you know may be exhibiting behaviours such as these, then it is definitely appropriate to seek guidance or help.
Is there a cure? ✅
Similarly to physical ailments, it's hard to tell if there are conclusive cures to mental health issues, however, there are definitely small things that you can do that might help! Ways to maintain positive mental health include:
Connecting with friends, loved ones and people you trust
Talking about or expressing your feelings regularly
Staying positive
Getting physically active and eating well
Developing new skills and challenging your capabilities
Helping others
Taking time out to relax
Getting enough sleep
And if all else fails
Getting professional help if you need it
If you were to start feeling physically unwell then you would seek professional help. Mental health issues should be treated with the same urgency as physical issues as they are just as important.
Where can I get help? 🤷
There are multiple people you can speak with if you're worried about you or someone else's mental health. Firstly, if you are ever worried and don't know where to turn, we are here. Whether you just want to talk or whether you need advice, we are always just a call or an email away and are more than happy to help you find a solution. You can get in contact by:
Email 📧 wellbeing@edyn.care
Phone 📞 020 3970 9900 (emergency line only between 5:30pm and 9am)
There are multiple different routes you can take to receiving the help you need. The best ways to do so are by:
Speaking to your GP - They may be able to refer you to an appropriate medical professional should you need further assistance, but your GP's priority isn't just your physical health, but your mental health too.
Searching for mental health charities with the Hub of Hope - by going to https://hubofhope.co.uk/ you are able to gain access to charities in your area that may be able to help you depending on the specific difficulty you are facing e.g. bereavement, panic attacks, BAME support or Carer and Family support.
Going to A&E - If you are in distress and need immediate help and are unable to see a GP, you should visit your local A&E.
Weekly carer call around
Every Friday your care coordinator completes a call around with you to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both you and your care recipient. Your care coordinator will ask you about your wellbeing, your happiness, your breaks and how rested you fell. They will also ask you about if there has been any changes in care needs, whether the care plan needs updating, any changes in medication and your care recipients overall mood. If important you are prepared for this call and that you make time to answer this call.
Looking after your wellbeing
If you need any additional wellbeing support whilst working with on your package, our wellbeing team are available to talk things through. You can email wellbeing@edyn.care to book in a time talk to with our wellbeing team.
Our wellbeing team has a wealth of knowledge about working in live-in care and is made up of previous carers and our care management team. They understand the pressures that can materialise from live-in care and are here to support you with any wellbeing issues you might be having.