Mental health support in Cumbria

Extracted from News and Star by Jacob Colley on 10 October 2020.

‘Help is out there’.

That is the message of local charities on World Mental Health Day today, as people continue to battle with the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are dealing with lots of calls around anxiety and depression and the uncertainty is making their symptoms worse,” explained Michael Bowden, adult services manager at Carlisle Eden Mind. “We get people that call more than once, which is absolutely fine, but people are struggling to deal with the uncertainty and prospect of change.” He said the pandemic has made life for those already struggling with mental health problems even harder.

John Brown, Suicide Bereavement Support

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, such as a drop in fundraising for the charity, Michael is still hopeful for the future. “The service is set up to cope with differences in demand. Our main concerns are about the implications of a step back into further lockdown measures. I think people would be hit very hard from stepping back rather than stepping forward. But we are aware of the reasons for the measures, it is a great major issue dealing with the implications of COVID.”

Michael encourages anyone who is struggling to reach out. Although not all people who take their own life have a history of mental illness, it is a factor in a large number of cases.

Another Cumbrian charity that is eager to highlight that help is out there, is Suicide Bereavement Support, which offers help to anyone dealing with the aftermath of a suicide. Chairman, John Brown, got the heartbreaking call 26 years ago that his father has ended his own life. “It is the one call you never expect to get and never want to get. I had three small children, what do you tell them? On the car drive we said, ‘your grandfather has chosen to call it a day'.”

The charity offers support to people going through similar challenges to John, including weekly Zoom calls where people can support each other. They also have private Facebook groups where people in a similar situation can be there for one another.

You can read the original article here.