Published Friday 18 June 2021 at 11:17
It’s Men’s Health Week and our Wellbeing team have shared a variety of information this week.
Whether it’s for yourself or the men in all our lives – fathers, brothers, partners, sons, friends and colleagues – you’ll find something to help you support men’s health and fitness.
Meet Chris
Chris Truckle has been working for the council for around 16 years, and is now a Community Development Tutor, with a focus on Wellbeing, designed to support staff.
Chris said: “During the pandemic, I admit I’ve not always coped well and I’ve experienced some anxiety about catching CV19. I found spending too much time on social media and watching the news was making me more anxious. So I decided to come off social media and restricted watching the news to just once a day.
“I recognised how it was affecting my mental health, anxiety and how I was feeling very preoccupied and worried. I noticed an increased demand for online courses since the lockdowns – they have helped a lot of people fill their time while being on furlough, and also they’ve also been a great tool to help people better manage their wellbeing.
Chris and his team also saw an increase in calls from the public to the Wellbeing HUB, and helped BwD residents maintain good wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle as best he could while adhering to the lockdown and the new way of remote working.
Chris continues: “MHFA England were quick in adapting to the pandemic and moved all resources online. Since November, due to the high demand, I’ve been delivering the MHFA course on a weekly basis – not just the adult course, but the youth course too. A lot of parents wanted to understand how their children were feeling, and requested training and tools to help educate families on how to better support their children.
“I’ve also hosted various Stress and Anxiety Management courses, and recently been able to get the outdoor courses back on track, such as Photography Walks and gardening projects which are covid-safe.
“I think the Mental Health First Aid courses are great resources and there’s a good variety. with an introductory short course, and longer full courses. I also love the walking courses, as I get to meet new people and discover new places. These social learning experiences mean participants are able to apply the five ways to wellbeing.
If you’d like to book onto a wellbeing course you can sign up: Adult Learning Courses in Blackburn with Darwen (bwdlearning.org) or visit your nearest community centre: About | bwdlearning
“I feel there’s still a stigma around men’s mental health. But the younger generation are much more aware and overall is it getting better. We have to continue to fight stigma, in all our communities. The Men’s Health Forum have sadly reported stats and suicide rates are the highest for 20 years.
NCISH | Suicide by middle-aged men – NCISH (manchester.ac.uk)
“A lot of men have lost their jobs in the pandemic, workloads have increased, some staff have had roles change dramatically, so people are still adapting. I feel the pandemic has had a huge emotional impact. The stigma around men not feeling able to talk about their struggles means they don’t find our about the support that is out there.
“As men haven’t been able to socialise as much – meet in pubs, play sports etc – they’ve lost the spaces where they would normally talk. But HOME | Mysite 8 (creativefootball.co.uk) are still working safely and providing a forum to help support men in the borough.”
“I’d recommend men learn the signs that they are struggling, and to fill their locker with various go to’s for help and support.”
If anyone needs support there is more info here Suicide FAQs | Men’s Health Forum (menshealthforum.org.uk)
Keep your eye out for the orange button scheme. Orange Button – Every Life Matters (every-life-matters.org.uk)
If you have attended a Half day Suicide Alertness, Half Day Self-harm/Suicide Alertness, ASIST, SafeTALK, Suicide First Aid or MHFA course with us in the last two years in Lancashire contact your training provider and request a kit.
There is a free FREE Suicide First Aid Lite virtual training available with Lancashire Mind. This is available to people living/ working in Lancs/SCumbria. Email admin@lancashiremind.org.uk to register!
5 steps to mental wellbeing – NHS (www.nhs.uk)