East Anglia Has The Lowest Rate of Mental Health Disorders in England

A recent government briefing document on mental health has found that the East of England ranks as having the lowest rate of common mental disorder (CMD) such as depression or anxiety in England.

On average across the country, one in six adults have experienced a CMD in the last week and while in East Anglia have the lowest level in the country, it still means that 14 percent of adults on a weekly basis are suffering with their mental health, which is a shocking statistic.

In recent years, awareness of mental health issues has increased with high profile celebrities including Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and even Prince Harry discussing openly the challenges they have faced.

Awareness is only the first step in resolving the issue and to date there has been very little research which demonstrates that resilience can be rebuilt or developed through an intervention. The result is a lack of evidenced programmes to develop resilience and this can lead to frustration in those who have been made aware of the issue. Recent research, however, conducted by Pete Wortley, from Bury St Edmunds company Yeast, have demonstrated that mental toughness and resilience can be developed in individuals.

Through working on projects in schools, leisure and the commercial sector in East Anglia, Yeast have found that by delivering a carefully designed Mental Toughness Development Programme in a specific way, participants can develop and rebuild their resilience. As a result, they are able to thrive in, and enjoy, the levels of stress they once struggled with.

An exciting new collaboration between Yeast and Green Shoots Learning have used this research to develop a range of programs that help increase awareness of mental health issues and then build resilience allowing individuals to thrive when faced with challenging situations.

Green Shoots Learning has an extensive client base throughout East Anglia in both the charity and commercial sectors delivering mental health accredited training and soft skills development programs.

“People can actually develop the ability to perform well under, and even enjoy, a level of pressure we currently find too stressful, they just need to build their resilience. We now understand how we can support them to do that,” says Peter Wortley of Yeast Ltd.

Lorna Rose from Green Shoots Learning says: “I am thrilled to be working with Yeast on building resilience. It is exciting to now be able to offer our clients the tools they need to not only recognise mental ill health and stress in the workplace, but to actively change people’s lives for the better by helping them become more resilient through our collaborative workshops and coaching programs.”

The Centre for Mental Health estimates that stress and mental health problems cost UK businesses £34.9 billion a year through staff absence, turnover and reduced productivity. As more organisations are including mental health awareness training in their annual training plans the collaboration are on hand to help those organisations who really want to achieve success in this area.

For more information please visit: www.greenshootslearning.com / www.yeast.ltd.