Find us at: Phoenix Hospital, Great Baddow, Chelmsford | 
Call us on: 01245 203 838 | 
Email us at: [email protected] Find us at: Phoenix Hospital, Great Baddow, Chelmsford | Call us on: 01245 203 838 | Email us at: [email protected] 
Although genetics and socio-economic factors can affect your mental health, our lifestyle also has a big impact. Lifestyle medicine works behind the principle that the mind and body are connected. Therefore, what is good for the body is also good for the mind.
Ultimately, the more we can do to improve our body and physical health, the more our mental wellbeing will improve too. To achieve this, Lifestyle Medicine advocates supporting mental wellbeing by using non-pharmaceutical techniques, to prevent and manage common mental health conditions.
A good and easy place to start to improve mental wellbeing is to start to access nature and the outdoors more. Fresh air and being outdoors is well known to reduce stress and improve mental health. We are fortunate in Essex that there is an abundance of nature that is easily accessible. This includes rivers, lakes and the sea as well as beautiful countryside, parks and beaches.
In addition, finding your purpose and meaning in life can help. Helping others and volunteering in something that interests you can give you a sense of achievement and reward as well as help improve self-esteem and confidence. This could be helping with animals, charity groups or with the environment. Try Volunteeressex.org for ideas and contacts.
Finally, positive psychology interventions such as gratitude practices, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help people who have had experiences in their lives that have had a negative impact on them.
These therapies can help people process, accept and move forward despite these. There are many therapists based in Essex that can help with achieving the benefits of mental wellbeing, and this helpful directory can help find a therapist for you.
For some people, life’s ups and downs can affect their mood, especially financial hardships, living conditions and employment.
There are organisations that can help with advice and aid. Citizens Advice Essex is a good place to start.
For many men, opening up about their mental health problems can be hard with a tendency to internalise problems. Thankfully, this is changing and more men are being open with their feelings and seeking help.
In Essex, local services are available to help men and are available only for men. Please see our useful directory below for lots of national and local resources to help.
In Essex, local services are available to help women and are available only for women. Please see our useful directory below for lots of national and local resources to help.
For support in a mental health crisis and to prevent self-harm or suicide (in an emergency call 999 or 111).
https://prevent-suicide.org.uk/find-help-now/stay-alive-app/
A 24/7 text service offering support to take you from a hot moment to feeling calmer. A safe space where you’re listened to by a trained Crisis Volunteer. The service is based on a tried and tested model of crisis support. 24/7 anonymous free conversation that won’t show on your phone bill. Professional support for creating a simple plan of action to manage your crisis.
For support in a crisis, Text Shout to 85258
The Samaritans offers a listening service to those going through a personal crisis and wanting to talk about their despair or suicidal feelings. There’s someone to talk to 24 hours a day and it is open to anyone. Calls made to the national helpline are charged at local call rates from anywhere in the country.
Samaritans local helpline: 01245 357357 (Chelmsford & Mid-Essex area).
Samaritans national helpline: 116 123.
A fantastic men’s suicide prevention charity offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups every Monday evening across the United Kingdom and online. They aim to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and help men through the power of conversation. For Chelmsford, they meet at Writtle University Centre for Health and Sport every Monday from 7pm.
#ITSOKAYTOTALK.
A support group for men and their mental health. They get together a couple of times a month and have a stroll around a country park whilst having a chat in a safe place without judgement. It gives men the opportunity to offload, get things off our chest and talk about how we are feeling rather than bottling it up and suffering in silence.
Mental fitness is just as important as our physical fitness. Men in general find it difficult to open up and talk about their feelings. They often see it as a weakness, they feel they always need to be strong, tough and macho.
At Walk&Talk4Men, they want to encourage men that it’s okay to talk and that nobody is alone.
Mates FC’s goal is not about being the best team in the league or getting the right players. Their goal is to get people back into football and use the beautiful game of football as a weapon to fight depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.
Contact Richard Murphy on 07725 582699.
The Shed’s purpose is to share skills and experiences, provide a haven to combat loneliness and isolation and to add value to communities. It is an opportunity to use any skills in woodworking, hobbying or any other specialist areas of making/repairing/up cycling or just to meet up for a chat and a cuppa, sometimes with cake and with other Shedders.
Find a Shed near you: https://essexshednetwork.co.uk/find-shed
Brave Future is a nature-based group therapy programme set up by The Wilderness Foundation to support clients who have experienced grief, trauma, addictions, social isolation, anxiety and depression which has affected their mental health and wellbeing.
You can contact us on any of the following:
Phoenix Hospital, Great Baddow, Chelmsford
Tel:
01245 203 838
Email:
[email protected]