A survey from Public Health England (PHE) reveals more than eight in ten (82%) people from an Asian background have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months. While these can be a natural response to life’s challenges, they can become more serious if people don’t take action.
PHE is encouraging the South Asian community to look after their own mental health, and support friends and family who might be struggling. They can start this by completing a ‘Mind Plan’, a quick and free tool from Every Mind Matters. The plan recommends a range of evidence-based self-care actions for each individual, which are designed to deal with stress, boost mood, improve sleep and help people feel more in control.
Harmeet experienced anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping due to a series of life events. She said:“Sometimes it’s really hard to deal with the challenges life throws at us but it’s important to try and pick yourself up, which can be difficult if you suffer from low mood. It was a mixture of things from making new friends and getting out more as well as being kinder to myself through taking up yoga which helped me. In South Asian communities, we can sometimes find it hard to deal with things such as low mood and anxiety because there is still social stigma attached to poor mental health, however, what I’ve learnt through this journey is that we’ll all struggle from time to time and that’s normal. I’m glad that Every Mind Matters is available because it helps people take simple steps forward to improve their mental health.”
According to Dr. Chirag D Gorasia, a Clinical Psychologist, “Through my work as a Clinical Psychologist, I come into contact with people from a range of communities, including the South Asian community. I regularly engage people through workshops and talks on mental health, as a well as individually. Teaching and discussing issues around mental health is central to challenging social stigma, and helps people to understand there is always something they can do to improve how they feel. This is why I am so pleased about the launch of Every Mind Matters. I strongly request everyone to take the Every Mind Matters quiz today to receive a personalised action plan around looking after their individual mental health, go on, you’ll be glad you did.”
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