Share your wellbeing images with us for Mental Health Awareness Week

Tell us what helps you on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Solent Mind, the local mental health charity, and Southampton City Council invite residents to share the places and things that help their wellbeing through the #onyourdoorstep campaign this Mental Health Awareness Week (13 – 19 May). The council will also host a week of wellbeing activities for its staff each day of the week.

Members of the public, businesses, schools and other organisations can print and complete an ‘On Your Doorstep’ sign, and share it in their community and online using the #onyourdoorstep hashtag. Signs and an information pack can be found at the Solent Mind website. People can signpost anything and everything that keeps them well: a favourite bench with a view of the sea, a cosy corner at a welcoming café, or a local gym to sweat out your stress.

Everyone can follow Solent Mind (@solentmind) and Southampton City Council (@southamptoncc) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see how people are using #onyourdoorstep to signpost towards better mental health.

Sue Forber, Solent Mind’s Director of Services, says, “We are really looking forward to seeing the special places and things that help people support their wellbeing. As someone who finds exercise a good way to maintain my mental health, I’ll be posting photos of the special places in Hythe and the New Forest where I run and walk to lift my spirits."

Cllr Dave Shields, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Southampton City Council, said: “We’re very pleased to join Solent Mind in promoting positive ways to wellbeing during Mental Health Awareness Week. Whether you’re sharing a picture of your happy place or simply doing something that keeps you well, I invite residents to get involved and share their personal stories with us on Twitter. We can learn from our successes and help each other by example.”

Dr Jason Horsley, Joint Director of Public Health at Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council, said; "We're pleased to be supporting the #onyourdoorstop campaign in both cities and encouraging people to share places that boost their mental wellbeing. With one in four people experiencing a mental health problem each year it's really important that we can have more open conversations about mental health and support one another in finding ways to look after our mental wellbeing."

Find out more at Solent Mind - On Your Doorstep

Staff talk about their ways to wellbeing

This year for Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re highlighting some staff who have created group activities as ways to wellbeing.

Full-Flavoured Fundraising

A group of staff started Full Flavoured Fundraising in August 2018 to raise money for local charities and give people a sense of togetherness outside the work routine. It has grown into a monthly open bake, raising more than £1,000 for nine charities. Each bake is themed and they have fun researching recipes and encourage colleagues to sample their goodies: they’ve had fabulous flapjacks, a biscuit bonanza and spectacular sponges, to name a few. It’s a great opportunity for staff to meet colleagues from other teams as they take a few minutes away from their desks. It also gives them a wonderful sense of wellbeing, just seeing a table laden with goodies of all shapes and sizes. Customers leave with a smile on their face and staff raise money for charity – a combination that makes us all happy. New bakers are always welcome.

Baking is one of my favourite pastimes and it is great to bring this to my place of work. Full Flavoured Fundraiser allows me to be creative and contribute to fundraising for some great charities.’ - Sarah Clayton

Staff Craft

Staff Craft, another staff activity that is two hours a month, samples different crafts, spending longer on the ones they enjoy most.

'My role involves dealing with the grief and anger felt by birth families, staff craft is a welcome break that helps me unwind for an hour before going back’ - Ellie Thompson

'The session has benefit me not only to allow myself to meet people from different team, share knowledge in crafts and allow myself to have an improvement in the area which I never knew I could.’ - Elsa Fuady

'It’s fun to relax and chat with like-minded crafters and a momentary diversion from our busy working lives. We enjoy the opportunity to learn new skills and then practice them at home. There’s always a new way to be creative and compare and discuss our projects.’ - Dawn Morgan

• To learn more about Mental Health Awareness Week, please visit Solent Mind