Elament - eLanarkshire Mental Health Resource

The Choose Life programme, in partnership with CRUSE Bereavement have developed national guidance regarding supporting people bereaved by suicide. The guidance covers supporting people bereaved by suicide and supporting people organisationally who engaged in working with people bereaved by suicide.

Please Click here to view Document

It's that time of the year again!!!!

As many of you will know the multi-agency Lanarkshire Dementia Strategy Implementation Group has a Public Health & Information action plan which includes the co-ordination and promotion of Dementia Awareness Week Activity 3rd-9th June 2013 across Lanarkshire.

This builds on the excellent activity that colleagues across Lanarkshire led on last year. See links below as a reminder of last year's activity:

Dementia Awareness Week, Worried About Your Memory Campaign

Dementia Awareness Week, 22nd June 2012 Programme

The aim is not to be over prescriptive, but just bring all the activity together into one plan, meaning we can concentrate our collective efforts and assets across Lanarkshire with a wide range of activities. The success of the programme last year has seen Dementia related resources amongst the most requested leaflets in the health improvement library. Please find a simple pro-forma attached for anyone to complete to tell us about your planned activity, which we can then promote through our co-ordinated efforts. Please return to fiona.ingram@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk for inclusion and promotion via elament www.elament.org.uk

We will also share our actions with Alzheimer Scotland for inclusion on their website detailing what is happening across Scotland:

Dementia Awareness Week 2013 Community Connections

NHS Lanarkshire Health Promotion Library have set up the same system as last year to let everyone know all the dementia related materials that are available for ordering (free) to support your activity and make it easy for anyone to order them. I have attached a catalogue (see page 19 to 21 for Dementia Specific Resources), order form and registration form (to be completed for you to register with the library). Please return your order form marking the e-mail 'Dementia Awareness Week' and return to Libraries@lanarlskire.scot.nhs.uk For any enquiries please phone: 01698 377600/ 01698 377629.

We have other promotional materials such as posters with 'tear off slips' promoting the 'Worried About Your Memory' campaign. Please let Fiona know if you would like a supply of these or discuss any other ideas you may have. We also distributed 'Pull Up' Boards last year promoting the 'Worried About Your Memory Campaign'. I am hoping most of you will still have them. If you require one and commit to using throughout the year we will supply you with a board to retain.

Please click here for documents:

Health improvement leaflet and poster Catalogue May 2013

Health Promotion Leaflet order form

Borrower Registration Form

Dementia awarness 2013 programme

After the success of previous festival campaigns, Lanarkshire is delighted to announce their participation in the 7^thScottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival with the theme of 'Reality'. The aim of the festival is to promote positive attitudes towards mental health, mental illness, support and recovery, and to effect significant cultural change amongst opinion through the insights and influences of the creative arts. The festival fundamentally seeks to strengthen the links between arts, community and public organisations.

The 2013 festival will take place during October with the aim to showcase local projects that use the arts and film to promote mental health and well-being.  We want to hear from you if you are involved in any of the following:

• Visual Arts
• Words (poetry or creative writing)
• Theatre, Drama or Performance
• Films
• Music
• Comedy
• Dance

Do you have any local venues that could be used to host a Festival event?

Would you like to host an exhibition?

Do you want to organise an event as part of the Festival?

Do you want to participant in an event, such as performing a 5 minute theatre production?

If you are interested in participating in the Festival, we would like to offer you support. We may be able to assist with reasonable costs associated with events.

The festival is part of a wider programme of mental health improvement, which aims to:

• Promote positive attitudes around mental health problems.
• Increase understanding of mental health and well-being - and how we can promote and support our own and others mental health and well-being.
• Increase awareness of what help and support is available.

As well as the above objectives the festival also wishes to:

• Increase awareness of the important part that the arts can play in supporting and promoting mental health and well-being.
• To engage with the local media to support mental health awareness.
• To increase participation by varying the opportunities to engage by using different mediums, targeting different age spans, spreading across Lanarkshire and creatively promoting the events.
• To link with existing arts and cultural programmes to showcase sustainable projects and build mental health awareness into existing projects and programmes.
• To strengthen the links between arts, community, academic, voluntary and public organisations.
• To challenge and engage on the topics of stigma, recovery and mental health inequalities.

The closing date for submissions is 17^thMay.

If you are interested in getting involved, or would like more information, please contact Susan McMorrin, Senior Health Promotion Officer, NHS Lanarkshire on 01698 377 626 or e-mail susan.mcmorrin@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

Further information on previous Lanarkshire Festival Events can be found at http://www.elament.org.uk/promoting-wellbeing/mental-health-festival.aspx

www.mhfestival.com

Where:  Hamilton Palace Sports Ground

When:  Friday 14th June 2013 from10:00am-12:00pm

• Do you want to be part of something BIG?
• Do you want to participate in something which could improve your physical health and wellbeing?
• Do you want more information on improving your health within Lanarkshire?

The Occupational Therapy mental health service within NHS Lanarkshire is holding an open day with the aim of promoting physical and mental wellbeing for adults and older adults.

Join us for a 30 minute walk around the sports grounds and be part of the national event: the 'Big Fit Walk', followed by free tea and coffee.  There will also be the opportunity to access information and resources available from teams working in physical and mental health care settings from NHS Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire council and other voluntary services.

Everyone is welcome to attend including service users, carers and members of the public.  So come along and become part of something BIG!

For further details, please contact:

Jenny Breadon           Occupational Therapist                                   01698 455459

Melanie Harris            Occupational Therapist                                   01698 723220

Danielle Strachan       Occupational Therapist                                   01555 667159

How would you like to explore the habitat of our birds, beasties and local wildlife? If so, then why not come along and join us in celebration of the Year of Natural Scotland next month when Wildfest events will be taking place throughout Lanarkshire. With over 20 events throughout North and South Lanarkshire between 18^th and 29^th May, Wildfest will give visitors, and local people alike, the chance to learn about wildlife in a fun environment.

From bogs to bings and gorges to glens, there's a wide variety of places to explore and wildlife to discover during Lanarkshire Wildfest 2013.  Activities range from badger watches to bee- keeping and plant hunts to peregrine patrols.  Early risers will be rewarded with a dawn chorus breakfast, or if you're more of a night owl, take an evening walk to discover nocturnal animals such as bats, badgers… and maybe even an owl.

For those with a spring in their step, there are longer hikes and cycles and even horse rides which take in areas of local historical and wildlife interest.  Not forgetting the kids, there's much to see and do. Discover bog beasties, water wonders or even a Gruffalo in a gorge!

"Lanarkshire Wildfest 2013 is a great opportunity for those interested in our local wildlife to come along and get involved and, hopefully, get to glimpse a variety of our birds and beasties in their natural habitat throughout Lanarkshire." said Councillor Hamish Stewart, Chair of the Council's Community Services Committee and Chair of the Board of South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Ltd. "This is an excellent and interesting project and I am delighted that we in South Lanarkshire Council are taking part in the project together with North Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire, Central Scotland Forest Trust, South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Ltd, Scottish Natural Heritage, Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, Whitelee Ranger Service, The RSPB and The Friends of Langlands Moss."

For more information contact Karen Dobbins, Countryside Ranger Service on 01698 543422 or email:  CAG@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

A full programme of events follows or you can check for information at www.southlanarkshirebiodiversity.co.uk

For Programme of event please click here 

For Poster click here 

Stress Control is a six session class. Each session lasts for 90 minutes. Stress Control was devised by Jim White, a clinical psychologist in Glasgow, to help the large number of people who complained of stress and who were keen to learn how to tackle their problems themselves.

Each session deals with a separate aspect of stress but as they all link together, it is important to attend as many of the sessions as possible. Each step is one piece of the jigsaw. Only by putting all the steps together will you get the full picture. The aim of the course is to teach you new skills that can fight stress. The following topics are covered on the course

• Learning about stress
• Controlling your body
• Controlling your thoughts
• Controlling your actions
• Controlling panic and sleep problems
• How to become more assertive, wellbeing and controlling the future

Classes will be running throughout Lanarkshire throughout the year so you will find a class near you.

Will I have to talk in front of other people?No Stress Control is  not a group therapy.

Stress Control is a class - all the seats face the front. The person teaching the course will stand at the front and teach you all about stress and how to tackle it. Your job is to pick up the new skills, to go off and work at what you have learned. You come back the next week, learn the next step until, after the six weeks, you will be in a good position to tackle your stress.

What if I meet someone I know? You may do. Stress is a very common problem and hundreds of people do the course each year inBritain. Everyone is in the same boat. As we don't discuss personal problems, you don't get to know much about why others are coming.

Will there be others on the course like me? Stress affects people from all walks of life. Although no two people will have exactly the same problems, you will all have a lot in common. You will find it hard to relax, you will worry a great deal, you will have lost confidence and a sense of control. You may well be depressed by this. Life will just be a lot harder to cope with.

Can I bring someone with me? Yes. Bring them for a bit of support or for them to learn about stress. They may be under a lot of stress as well so they might be helped. They can also learn about the best ways to help you. The two of you can then fight it together.

What if I'm not better at the end of the course? Stress Control is a training not a therapy course. This means that you will learn many new skills over the next few weeks but it is in the months after that the hard work takes place to master these skills.

What if I panic or make a fool of myself? How often do you think you are going to make a fool of yourself and how often do you? It is a common fear but the course is very down to earth. You will be in control. If you have a pattern of panic in busy places, work out ways to cope with this - bring someone with you, sit at the back at the door for the first few sessions. Feel free to wander out at any time and get a breath of fresh air.

What if I'm not clever enough to understand it? Stress Control is straight-forward but there can be a problem with concentration. This is common with stress. You will be given handouts to read at your leisure to reinforce what is covered in the classes.

Please see class date, times and area's below:

Carluke

Coatbridge

Bellshill

Airdrie

Hamilton

Wishaw 

For more information contact Stress Control 08458 725 132,

email: stresscontrol@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk