Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

At Hartwell, we are supporting mental health awareness week to help tackle loneliness. Research shows that one in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time. A report by mentalhealth.org also shows that feelings of loneliness increased rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the effects of that are still ongoing.

According to Mind, feeling lonely is not in itself a mental health problem, but the two are strongly linked. Having a mental health problem can increase your chances of feeling lonely, but feeling lonely can also have a negative impact on your mental health.

MentalHealth.org have provided some tips for helping with feelings of loneliness:

1. Try to do some enjoyable things that will keep you busy
2. Try to use social media in a positive way, by finding people like you but not comparing your life to others
3. Think about doing a physical activity
4. Try to engage with the people you meet in your daily life.
5. Talking therapies can help

We think car journey’s car actually excellent opportunities to de-stress, de-load, and improve your mental health

2 years ago, Ford ran a campaign named ‘Elephant in the Transit’. The campaign was based on research conducted by Ford, which found that 67% of people said they were more comfortable talking about issues when in a vehicle.

Talking about mental health can be very difficult, but it’s easy to see why many people feel more comfortable talking whilst doing something else, like driving. Within a vehicle, there are distractions, noises, and the nature of vehicles and driving mean that conversations are not face-to-face, which can make talking about difficult things a lot easier. It is also a setting which can still feel safe and private.

Check out one of the videos of the campaign below:

As the leading commercial brand in the UK, Ford is committed to improving mental health by encouraging a culture of supporting and talking to colleagues and friends.

Ford also added some tips for practicing mindfulness whilst driving on your own. This year’s Mental Health Awareness theme is, of course, loneliness, but having some time to yourself and enjoying your own company is important when it comes to limiting stress, loneliness and poor mental health.

Some people enjoy driving and commuting more than others, but these tips can help make driving become a valuable bit of time in your busy life. Take a look at Ford's Mindful Driving Tips below:

• When entering the vehicle, take a few moments to breathe and get settled in the seat.
• Notice your body, your posture and try to ease any tension points.
• Notice the world around you, other drivers and road users, the scenery, the flow of traffic, and actively try to enjoy it all.
• In challenging situations, try to react with empathy and kindness, in ways you would like others to react to you.
• Develop mindfulness rituals for your driving, such as taking deep breaths when the vehicle is at a traffic light, using stop signs as a visual reminder to refocus, or driving in silence to help you tune in better to your surroundings.
• Try something new by taking different routes, or leave earlier in order to take a more scenic route to your destination.
• Enjoy life in the slow lane. Driving just under the speed limit helps take away a lot of tension, as rushing often leads to stress.
• Turn any negative emotions and reactions into positive ones by wishing all the other roads users well.

Next time you’re driving solo, why not try some of these and see how it can improve your mood?

You can find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week here:

And find access to further help, advice or information at Mind.org