Mental Health

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through to adulthood.

If you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behaviour can be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

  • Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry

  • Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse

  • Family history of mental health problems

What to look out for:

Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or behaviors can be an early warning sign of a mental health issue:

  • Eating or sleeping too much or too little

  • Pulling away from people and usual activities

  • Having low or no energy

  • Feeling numb or like nothing matters

  • Having unexplained aches and pains

  • Feeling helpless or hopeless

  • Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared

  • Yelling or fighting with family and friends

  • Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships

  • Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head

  • Hearing voices or believing things that are not true

  • Thinking of harming yourself or others

  • Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school

Support Available

Mental health problems are common but there is lots of support available. People with mental health problems can get better with appropriate support. If you have any concerns regarding Mental Health then please speak to a member of The Safeguarding Team. Miss Meanley (Manager of Emotional Health and Wellbeing) runs a counselling service that all students can access. The counselling service deliver a range of workshops on a 121 or group basis to improve the mental health of our students.

Please email Miss Meanley if you feel that you need support with your mental health NMeanley@hswv.co.uk