Thrive LDN blog: Supporting great mental health

Welcome to the first in Thrive LDN’s blog series, which explores questions about Londoners’ wellbeing.

What helps and hinders Londoners’ resilience and mental health? How can we support communities and systems that will help to promote positive mental health and wellbeing? How have our lives and perceptions of mental health changed as a result of the pandemic?

Thrive LDN’s research and analysis has explored the evidence of how COVID-19 has impacted Londoners’ mental health. We hope to further the conversation by expanding on the stories behind the data – engaging and amplifying those voices from London’s diverse communities so nobody is lost in the research.

Great Mental Health Day

London celebrates its first ever Great Mental Health Day on Friday, 28 January. The aim is to encourage Londoners to talk about mental health, highlight the support available, and most of all, take the stigma out of asking for help when we need it.

Organisations, local authorities and individuals across the city are coming together to host a range of activities designed to boost mood and improve resilience. It’s also the chance to share ideas on what we can do to boost our own wellbeing and support each other through difficult times.

It’s no surprise that the pandemic has had an enormous impact on Londoners’ wellbeing and mental health. As part of Great Mental Health Day, people have been answering three key questions:

• What do you do to improve your own mental health?
• What makes you feel connected to others?
• What do you do to support others in your community?

People have been sharing their answers on social media using #GreatMentalHealth and in Talk London’s latest discussion board too.

Exercise, being in nature, and doing something you love were among the ideas shared on the Talk London forum:

“I find walking in nature a great healer, and any form of exercise…Reading a book. Getting lost in a film.”

“It seems to me there is a connection between physical and mental health, quiet exercise helps to calm my mind so that the difficulties everyone faces are seen in perspective…Those few quiet moments every morning have been invaluable in getting me through this pandemic

“Running outside on a regular basis is amazing for my mental health. Also going for walks with my wife and talking through things that we’re facing.”

“Just find one thing you enjoy and embrace it….”

Ideas from the Thrive LDN team this Great Mental Health Day

The Thrive LDN team spends a lot of time researching wellbeing and mental health. So, for this first blog in the series and coinciding with Great Mental Health Day, we thought it may be helpful to share what good mental health means to us, and what we do to improve our own wellbeing and support those around us.

The ideas shared across the team included doing things you are passionate about and “having a range of interests and creative activities that can bring you happiness, even if you are not doing them to directly benefit your mental health.”

What comes across very strongly is the belief that “mental health is an essential part of health and the very fundament everything else is built on.” This is also important in fighting stigma around discussing mental health.

“It means acknowledgment, that mental health is a real thing. Coming from an immigrant African household, our culture has shunned away from conversations around mental health, and discussions are often seen as taboo. ‘Great mental health’ means being comfortable to maintain a dialogue about mental health.”

It’s not about expecting every day to be perfect. We have to accept “that some days will be harder than others and be gentle with yourself when that is the case.”  It’s about knowing what to do, and where to turn, when things are not so great: “Great mental health means having the tools and the resources to cope with life’s twists and turns, and having a community of support to help when you feel you can’t do it by yourself.”

There was an emphasis on the importance of contact, of social networks and community. We have to talk about mental health, be open about our own feelings, and check in with friends and family about how they are really feeling. Several Thrive LDN team members stressed the importance of active listening, and “just being there when they need someone to talk to.”

“Active listening creates a space where everyone gets their chance to speak from their heart. To actively listen is to listen in different ways, listening is not just through your ears, it’s your eyes, your aura, your energy. You are able to feel the conversation deeper, understand one another’s perspectives, and when you really ‘hear’ you are able to make deep solutions.”

Too often, wellbeing is written about as though it is something for an individual to deal with on their own, especially at this time of year – ‘New Year, New You’, for example.  But the pandemic has seen many stories of people helping each other.  We are social beings, we need contact. And by helping others, we also help ourselves:

“How did I help my mental health during the pandemic? I increased the amount of volunteering I do. Not only to help my family, but others in the community that were not coping or unable to access services. It provides me with a sense of fulfilment, and achievement when helping others – it gives me ‘a feel-good feeling’. Being able to support my local and wider community lends itself to better mental health and being able to connect with new people and chat to someone who may be feeling isolated is really important, not only for others but also for me.”

Another team member added:

“We know that to make progress for great mental health we must lean into our collective capacity and help each other. Community provides a solid foundation for great mental health – a safe space for people to join together by common interests, backgrounds, or experiences, to build each other up, to not only adapt to and withstand adversity but to thrive and reach their full potential.”

The past two years have been incredibly tough for Londoners, and many of us have had to deal with unimaginable difficulties. But perhaps there are also lessons – for individuals and for organisations – on wellbeing, resilience, on what it takes to really create great mental health, as we start to build the recovery.

“Contradictory to most things in the pandemic, I believe mental health education was at an all-time high during COVID. In a matter of days we moved from being online to practically living online, with this came the increase in numerous social media outlets encouraging open conversations about mental health.”

For one team member, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of community:

“I think the pandemic and particularly the initial response to COVID-19 and restrictions in place uncovered the power of community spirit and the role of community leaders and groups across London. As seen in many parts of the world, London’s response has largely been rooted in community action, resulting in innovation and transformation at a scale and speed never seen before. COVID-19 has exposed the importance of belonging and coming together to build strength and resilience.”

Do these ideas and thoughts resonate with you?

Then join the conversation using the hashtag #GreatMentalHealth to share your own tips, advice and experience across all social media platforms.

If you are interested in contributing to future Thrive LDN blogs and sharing your experience of mental health throughout the pandemic, please get in touch with Bessie Bulman at elizabeth.bulman@nhs.net.