This week is Mental Health awareness Week (10th -16th May), children and families in County Durham are being encouraged to talk more about mental health. The theme is around “nature” and the Emotional Health and Resilience team for Growing Healthy County Durham led by Claire Birks and with Durham’s digital lead Hayley Agnew are working with the community over our social media pages and sharing with schools (sharing presentations) to help children and young people talk more about their feelings, focusing on nature and our surroundings.
The Emotional Health and Resilience Team, said: “It is so important the community in County Durham, as in all communities across the county, can talk about mental health so that talking about emotional health is normalised no one is embarrassed about how they feel as this is as important as our physical health and no more has this been tested throughout the pandemic.
We know taking in nature and getting outside promotes good mental health and physical health and has been so important over the last year or so. So this week, and at all times in our work, we are promoting the importance of connecting, being active, taking notice, keep learning and giving.
The team are posting each day on social media and are running a competition for our children around sharing pictures that focus on nature that could brighten up someone’s day this encourages talking about the images and appreciating the things around us and generally talking.
Many Thanks From the Emotional Health and Resilience Team
