One of the greatest challenges causing pressure on GP's surgeries is a sharp rise in people reporting mental health issues. It is clear that two lockdowns have led to heightened anxiety, more loneliness, and more cases of depression. Some of it is also down to the frustrations of modern life. For the elderly, it can often be linked to loneliness and for the young, teenage anxieties are exacerbated in the age of social media which can be needlessly cruel. Then there are all of the issues associated with drug abuse and we have been affected by the “county line” drug problem like many other communities.
Trying to nurture a culture across our society where we focus on well-being, recognise the value of friendships, family, and nature in helping people stay grounded and encourage people to look out for one another is key. Every one of us will experience episodes in life that have a profound effect on us. Often it can be bereavement with the loss of a loved one or a family tragedy or it can be a loss of self-esteem and confidence following financial difficulties or the loss of a job or career. Mental health charities and services in Cornwall have never experienced so much demand for their services after the pandemic.
Last week I visited the new Cornwall Counselling Institute which is based at Cornwall College. It is a new project being run out of the college to offer training to people seeking to develop a career in counselling. Many of the courses are offered part-time so that people can develop their skills while still working. I met a group of trainee counsellors to hear about their work. It was great to see such passion and enthusiasm and to hear about the work they are doing to support mental health charities in the area. They currently offer 4 counselling programmes which can be studied as stand-alone qualifications, for those both wishing to upskill or gain professional qualifications in the field. What I really liked about the project is that part of the programme involves trainees taking on real cases and talking to people with problems in their lives through a Community Interest Company linked to the Institute. This means that they are simultaneously training more counsellors while helping to deal with the immediate demand on the system.
We humans are social creatures. Friendships and the company of others are important. It is known that spending quality time with loved ones and friends in a social setting has a considerable positive impact on our mental health. On a more optimistic note, despite the problems, there is also a lot of evidence that people are extremely resilient, schools report that most children have rebounded very quickly from lockdowns as they have returned to school and society has largely picked up where it left off. People are socialising again, going out for a drink with friends and have returned to work but for those that are struggling, help is at hand.
