This Thursday, 6 February, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight is encouraging people to get comfortable talking about their mental health and help remove the stigma.
Time to Talk Day is the UK’s biggest conversation about mental health. It happens every year to help create supportive communities where friends, families, and colleagues can come together to talk, listen and change lives.
Sonya McClean, Strategic Lead for Acute and Crisis Mental Health for NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “Time to Talk Day is an important reminder that a simple conversation can make a real difference and talking about mental health can be life changing.
“It can be difficult to speak about how you feel but when we do open up to a friend, family or professional for support we help break down the stigma, encourage others to seek help, and create a culture where no one feels alone.
“Mental wellbeing is one of the top priorities for the NHS across Hampshire and Isle of Wight. Our aim is to promote positive mental wellbeing, prevent mental ill health, and reduce death by suicide.
“There is lots of support available locally and the 111 mental health triage line is a good place to start – you can go online or call 111. If your life is at risk right now and you feel you might attempt suicide or have seriously harmed yourself, call 999 or head to your nearest emergency department.”
“Take the opportunity this Thursday to check in with friends, families, or colleagues, start a conversation, and help change the way we think and talk about mental health. If you struggle to start the conversation, ask your friends and family what mental health means to them?”
Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight there is help available if you need further support for your mental health. Please see details of the services available below or at https://hiowhealthcare.nhs.uk/help-crisis:
NHS 111 mental health triage
The NHS 111 mental health triage team provide mental health support 24/7 to people of all ages across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The triage team has a wide range of skills including on the phone psychological intervention which allows you to receive the care you need wherever you are. The service ensures people have easy access to support at the right time, and in the right place for them, including enabling people to get mental health support before a problem becomes a crisis.
Shout text message service
Text 'HANTS' to 85258 to speak with a trained volunteer. Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service for anyone struggling to cope. It won't show up on your phone bill.
Talking therapies (previously known as iTalk)
Talking Therapies is a service for adults in Hampshire and IOW. Talking Therapies offers a wide range of treatments, in a wide range of formats, and offers support with everyday wellbeing as well as diagnosed common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD and PTSD. You can access Talking Therapies via this link
Kooth
Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being support service providing young people aged 11-25 (up to their 26th birthday) with a safe and secure means of accessing support with their emotional health and wellbeing needs from a professional team of qualified counsellors.
Safe Havens
There are a few Safe Havens across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight which provides emotional and practical support to adults experiencing a mental health crisis. You can get support from staff and volunteers by telephone, email, text, or face to face during evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Safe Havens can be found at:
- Aldershot
- Basingstoke
- Eastleigh
- Havant
- Newport
Further information including addresses and opening times can be found here.
Lighthouse - Shirley and Bitterne
The Lighthouse is an informal, non-judgemental, out-of-hours mental health service for anyone over the age of 18 who requires short-term support with their mental health.
The Lighthouse has two locations in Southampton, Shirley and Bitterne. You can access the service by texting “Lighthouse" to 07451276010. The team will then respond and offer text support, telephone support or face to face.
The service runs from 4.30pm to 11.30pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It is open to anyone over the age of 18 who lives within the local area of Shirley or Bitterne and feels they are at crisis point with their mental health.
More details on Time to Talk Day can be found here – https://timetotalkday.co.uk