This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, with today being ‘Time to Talk Day’.
Children’s Mental Health Week is run by Place2Be, to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health. In the current situation, everyone’s mental health is under significant strain, with children and young people experiencing their own particular challenges. This year Place2Be are encouraging children and young people to express themselves by finding ways to share feelings, thoughts or ideas, through creativity. Suggestions include art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good. We all express ourselves in different ways and for many people, being creative about how we do this is what works best.
Time to Talk Day is being promoted by Time to Change who exist to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems. One positive about the current situation is that we are talking much more about our own mental health and are more concerned about the mental health of our families, friends and those around us. So perhaps now is a good time to focus on mental health. Perhaps now is the time to reach out to someone and either ask how they are doing or to put your trust in them and tell them that you are struggling.
‘A small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference’.