It's Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 and we have been invited to consider the experience of loneliness and how we can all potentially be affected by it and the potential detrimental effect feeling isolated can have on our mental health.
The Covid epidemic and resulting lockdowns have forced many people of all ages and backgrounds to feel isolated and lonely. In the main we are social creatures, who enjoy interaction with others. We build our identity and self-worth with the help of partners, friends and family, so when we are prevented from seeing them, it can invite negative feelings. From my work as a therapist, I can see that the last couple of years has heralded a major increase in mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation and more people than ever have been seeking therapeutic interventions to help them overcome their issues.
Thankfully we are now able to return to having contact with family, friends and colleagues and hopefully most of us have had the resilience to weather the loneliness of Covid and are feeling brighter again.
Unfortunately there will be those amongst us who are experiencing something different and may be feeling lonely and sometimes quite desperate.
Bereavement, loss, separation and divorce can trigger intense negative feelings causing some individuals to withdraw and bottle up their emotions, leaving them feeling very low and overwhelmed.
Living with an abusive partner can also have major effects on mental health. Some abusers will purposefully isolate their partner from their family and friends so there is no-one to turn to alongside subjecting them to other forms of abuse.
Chronic illness or severe injury can not only affect individuals physically, they can mentally suffer too along with their close family so it is really important that their mental health is looked after to.
Brethertons personnel regularly see clients who are experiencing these circumstances and they offer an empathetic, understanding approach as well as giving sound legal expertise. Brethertons clients experiencing emotional distress linked to their circumstances may be offered therapeutic support on an individual or group basis as the firm feels it in vital that their clients are given the best service. For details please click here.
Finally if you know anyone who is struggling and may be feeling lonely and distressed, please do reach out to them, it just might make all the difference.