Looking after your mental health and wellbeing

If you are self-isolating or spending more time at home due to your work or school being closed, it is important to take care of yourself. 

You may be feeling anxious, lonely or stressed however there is lots of support available to help you take care of your mental health.

Urgent support

If you feel unable to cope there are organisations that can help you get support right away:

Togetherall

Togetherall is a 24/7 support system for Oldham residents to use free of charge. A safe, online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing.

If you're an Oldham resident aged 16+ create a free account here. 

Mind

Leading mental health charity Mind are able to offer support to better manage your mental health.

If you are worried about coronavirus and how it could affect your life Mind offer lots of practical things you can try to improve your wellbeing:

Mind - Youth in mind

The Hive is a designated young people’s service which offers a range of activities for those who want to get involved in groups in their community.

  • Phone: 0161 330 9223

Kooth

Online mental wellbeing community Discussion boards, chat and messenger, support and counselling

NHS.UK

Expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing:

NHS – Better Health

What you can do if you feel lonely during the coronavirus outbreak.
Explore tips that can help with feeling lonely 

NHS Mood self-assessment

If you’re 16 or over, this mood self-assessment can help you better understand how you've been feeling recently.

SilverCloud Health

SilverCloud offers online programmes to help ease your levels of stress, sleep better, or build resilience. These programmes are similar to what you would complete with a therapist, except you can go through them on your own at your own pace.

Online access

You can sign up now at:

Support for parents who have vulnerable children aged 8–18

If you feel worried or anxious about yourself or your child support is available from Maggie Holland the Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at Mahdlo.

To access the following help and support, email Maggie directly at Maggie.Holland@mahdloyz.org

  • Welfare phone calls to families around any concerns or worries
  • Look at strategies and ways to support the family to bridge the gap between the concerns raised and the school/college
  • Advice and sign posting to mental health services if necessary
  • Arrange one to one support with young people or the parent/carer
  • Drop-in session at Mahdlo via invitation for the young person for a wellbeing conversation and also offer a resource pack to support with home schooling such as pens, pencils, and paper

Oldham Brokerage Service

Visit the Oldham Brokerage Service website to access useful mental health resources. It caters to everyone and the information has been broken down into parents/carers, children and young people so that you can find the right information for you

Oldham Opportunity Area

Find lots of useful information on wellbeing for professionals, parent and young people.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a technique you can learn which involves making a special effort to notice what's happening in the present moment.

By learning to be “present” you can achieve a sense of calm and focus.

It can take some practice, but it’s a really effective way of boosting your sense of wellbeing and helping you to achieve your goals.

Here are some great free resources to get you started:

Headspace

Use free guided meditations on their website and youtube channel, or downloading the free app on your phone  

The Free Mindfulness Project

The Free Mindfulness Project brings together 100's of free mindfulness videos, audios and other resources all in one place:

Stay in touch

Stay in touch with other people using your mobile phone and video chat apps:

Free access to wellbeing apps for NHS staff

NHS staff have been given free access to a number of wellbeing apps from now until the end of December 2020

MoodZone

MoodZone is an NHS resource which includes an assessment tool to check in with your mood, and audio guides to boost your wellbeing and manage stress and anxiety. 

Healthy Minds – Talking Therapies

Healthy Minds Oldham offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.

It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.

Healthy Young Minds Oldham

Offer specialist services to children and young people who are experiencing mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties.

Covid Alcohol Awareness

During the Covid pandemic, alcohol intake has risen dramatically as people have been turning to it as a way to relieve stress and anxiety during lockdown.

GM Health Hub

Free online courses designed to improve feelings, beat stress and boost your ability to live well.

Older residents

Working with the University of Manchester GMCA have produced a guide to help older people in Greater Manchester keep well while at home.

Oldham Age UK

Daily wellbeing calls

Receive daily calls from their team of volunteers.

  • Phone: 0161 622 9252 (Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm)

Befriending and wellbeing

Age UK have a fantastic team of volunteers who are making regular telephone calls to local people here in Oldham. This could include a friendly chat or catch-up to check on general welfare. It could also include making sure you have essential supplies and providing you with general information and reassurance.

  • Phone 0161 633 0213 (9am–4pm, Monday to Friday).

Banish the boredom with books!

Get books from your favourite genres delivered

  • Phone: 0161 633 0213
  • Age UK website