Wayne David, Labour MP for Caerphilly, has spoken out in support of Mental Health Awareness Week, a campaign created by the charity ‘Mental Health Foundation’.

The awareness week, which began on the 9^th May and lasts until the 15^th, picks a different theme each year in efforts to tackle various mental health issues and stigmas.

This year, the theme is loneliness. Mental Health Foundation explain that loneliness can be a driver and a product of poor mental health, and the pandemic has given rise to a sense of loneliness and isolation with less access to loved ones and more activities online.

Factors such as being widowed, being unemployed, having a long-term health condition, being a carer for someone or being from a minority community can increase our chances of severe loneliness, in turn affecting our mental health.

This campaign aims to raise awareness of the links between poor mental health and loneliness, provide safe and welcoming spaces to talk and support others, upskill people to be able to use technology to keep in touch with family, and to create a volunteer unit to support lonely people.

Wayne David said “During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us did not have the chance to spend time with loved ones. This reaffirmed just how important it is to be able to see our family and our friends. It is important to talk about loneliness and the links it has to poor mental health as it is often ignored. This is because people do not want to feel judged, or, feel as if they are making a problem out of nothing.

I often meet constituents at my advice surgeries who have a complex range of mental health needs and concerns. It is important that people know where to go to get help, and I fully support the Mental Health Foundation in its efforts to raise awareness on these issues”.

If you are interested in finding out more about Mental Health Awareness Week and the charity ‘Mental Health Foundation’, please click this link: Mental Health Awareness Week | Mental Health Foundation