Lighten The Load
One in four of us will suffer from some form of mental health issue in any given year and we at loose Women think that is something we should be talking about. Our Lighten the Load campaign is all about talking and listening. Talking if you’ve been affected, or being there to listen to someone who is going through a period of stress.
Lighten The Load: The Pledge
You can get involved right now by pledging to talk if you’ve been affected, and whilst you’re at it pledge to listen as well. It’s totally anonymous, and the more people that support our campaign the more we can break down the stigma of having a mental health issue. Just click on one of the buttons above to join the campaign.
If your mental health is under pressure there are many ways to ease the stress.Firstly try to talk with a friend or someone you trust. Often this helps clarify your issues and identify what is causing your stresses.You may find it useful going online or speaking to one of the many charities that specialise in mental health issues. Some suggestions are below.You can also speak to your GP or a medical professional to get expert medical advice.
Lighten The Load: Checklists
Most of us are familiar with regularly checking our breasts for lumps, or moles on our skin for signs of change, but when did you last do a mental health check? Probably never! As part of Lighten the Load campaign we have created two free mental health checklists that anyone can download and keep.
Each contains five simple questions and if you answer yes to two or more then it’s time to put your mental health first and look at ways of easing the stresses. You can keep as a screensaver on your laptop, or send the checklist to a friend.
Personal mental health checklistLoved one's mental health checklistPersonal phone mental health checklistLoved one's phone mental health checklist
Instructions on how to save the checklist to your phone, and to make it your screensaver, are below.
Saving and making image wallpaper for iPhone
Tap and hold on the image until the pop-up selection menu appears, then tap “Save Image”
Find the saved image within Photos app
Press the icon in the bottom left hand corner of your phone - it’s a box with an arrow pointing up.
Scroll the bottom row to the right, until you see the ‘Use as Wallpaper’ icon.
Move and scale the picture to fit your screen, and press save.
Saving and making an image wallpaper for Android
Press and hold down on the image until you see a menu.
From here, click the “Save image” tab, and it will begin downloading. If you’re downloading a large image, it may take a few more seconds for it to download.
Pull down your notification shade to find the download notification. Either click that notification or head over to your gallery app. If downloaded correctly, the photo has been saved to your device.
Once you have opened the picture, click your drop down menu and choose ‘set image’ and then ‘wallpaper’.
Resize and reposition the picture, and click ‘done’.
Lighten The Load: Helplines
The SamaritansTel: 116 123Samaritans.org
You don’t have to be suicidal to call Samaritans. Whatever you’re going through, call them any time from any phone on 116 123 (this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch.
MindMind Info line: 0300 123 3393mind.org.uk/
The Mind InfoLine offers thousands of callers confidential help on a range of mental health issues. Mind helps people take control of their mental health. We do this by providing high-quality information and advice, and campaigning to promote and protect good mental health for everyone. They also provide a special legal service to the public, lawyers and mental health workers.
Mental Health Foundationmentalhealth.org.uk
The Mental Health Foundation deliver change and help empower people to make real changes in their lives.
Best Beginnings: Heads Togetherheadstogether.org.uk/ht_charity_partners/best-beginnings/
Around 2 in 10 women develop a mental illness during pregnancy and within the first year after having a baby. Significantly more parents might feel overwhelmed, isolated, anxious or fearful. Best Beginnings is here to help.
Young Mindsyoungminds.org.ukTel: 0808 802 5544
The UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
RETHINKTel: 0300 5000 927rethink.org
Working together to help everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life.
Time to Changetime-to-change.org.uk
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems. Our vision is to make lives better for everyone by ending mental health discrimination and to inspire people to work together to end the discrimination surrounding mental health.
Bi-Polar UKTel: 020 7931 6480bipolaruk.org.uk
BiPolar UK is a user led charity working to enable people affected by Bipolar disorder / manic depression to take control of their lives.
ChildLineHelpline: 0808 11 11childline.org.uk
ChildLine is a counselling service for children and young people. You can contact ChildLine in these ways: You can phone on 0800 1111, send us an email, have a1-2-1 chat with us, send a message to Ask Sam and you can post messages to the ChildLine message boards . You can contact ChildLine about anything - no problem is too big or too small. If you are feeling scared or out of control or just want to talk to someone, you can contact ChildLine.
Mindfull.orgmindfull.org
Are you feeling down, depressed or worried? Is your mind full of negative thoughts or questions? Do you want to talk about your mental health?
If so, MindFull is the place for you! MindFull is a brilliant new service for 11-17 year olds, providing support, information and advice about mental health and emotional wellbeing; helping you to overcome life's ups and downs and feel confident and happy about who you are. You choose the type of support you receive and, because MindFull is online, you can get it whenever you want it, wherever you are.
MindFull is here to help you get better; and we'll also give you tools and tips to help you get through those tough times that may arise in the future. We know that asking for help is not always easy, but MindFull is a safe and trustworthy space where you can choose the right support for you.
Get ConnectedFreephone: 0808 808 4994 (1pm - 11pm)getconnected.org
Confidential National helpline for young people under 25 helps them work out what they need most. Can put them in touch with places that can help - whatever the issue.
Depression UKdepressionuk.org
The mission of Depression UK is to promote mutual support between individuals affected by or at risk from depression, with the aim of encouraging self help, recovery and personal growth. We believe our members are helped when they share their problems with fellow sufferers, because they understand, better than any non-depressed professional or carer can ever do, what it really feels like to suffer from depression. These members can then share their thoughts, feelings, hopes, disappointments and successes, and in so doing offer mutual support to each other.