Mental Health Awareness Week - Loneliness
The Mental Health Foundation sets the theme for the year and this year the focus is loneliness
According to them loneliness is affecting more and more of us in the UK and has had a huge impact on both our physical and mental health, especially during the last few years with the pandemic.
Official Statistics released from the Wellbeing and Loneliness - Community Life Survey 2020/21 asked respondents if they ever feel lonely, 6% said often, with 19% feeling lonely some of the time and 23% feeling lonely occasionally. That's almost half of the respondents feeling lonely at some point. When the stats were broken down, there were also more women feeling lonely than men.
It’s my experience that women go through more periods in their life where they are in a position where they can feel isolated, or there is stigma around talking and opening up about their true feelings and asking for what they really need.
That's why, when I first started Bulletproof Your Body, building a safe place for postnatal people to come together, bond and find community was so important. We would always make time for a check-in and chat, taking that special time before and after the session to support each other, over a tea and chocolate biscuits - this has set the bar for the feel of SLAM as a whole with connection and community being a core value of ours. Our couch and a great selection of hot drinks are always available for everyone, no matter what session you come to.
For many, covid and the resulting lockdowns may have been the first true experience of loneliness and feelings of isolation. Even now it is changed how daily life functions for a lot of people - working from home and the increased use of technology has reduced the amount of person to person interactions we are getting. Some members are telling us that coming to the gym can be the only in-person interaction they are getting that day (outwith their immediate household)
We always bang the pan about the importance of self-care and looking after your mental health as well as physical, and although loneliness is not a mental health problem, it is an experience that can affect our mental health. So it’s important that SLAM is there to cultivate a sense of belonging for our all our members and our extended community.
These are some of the things we strive to deliver to the community that we hope helps make the connection with SLAM more than just a gym.
Keeping things small
Keeping to small groups, we all get the chance to know each other’s names and the music is low enough so we can still chat and have a good old laugh, (or communal moan) during sessions.
Cultivating a sense of belonging
A friendly and welcoming reception area that offers a comfy seat you can chill in for as long as you need. It’s also a non-negotiable for us that all staff give everyone a friendly ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ creating a safe space, where members feel able to share and open up about struggles if they need to.
Bringing people together
Our postnatal and restorative sessions always start with some chat and connection. And each postnatal course has it’s own group chat where you can still access support from your peers, even when not in the gym. We also love hosting or throwing events that can bring the community together to build friendships and it’s important to us that we support and involve other small and local businesses that have similar values and share their info with our own community.
Facilitate movement
Yes, we’re a gym! We’re here to give EVERYBODY a safe space to exercise because we all know exercise makes you happier with the release of endorphins and dopamine. Our space is open for beginners to gym veterans, new parents or mums to be, we strive for an inclusive gym space where you can flourish.
A problem shared is a problem halved
We are extremely passionate about having open and honest conversations - even the hard ones! So if we can start a conversation that helps to normalise talking about mental health and gives our community an outlet, tips or points them in the right direction to finding support we feel honoured.
How do you feel about loneliness? Do you feel like getting out and into a community such as a gym or exercise class helps? Or have you any other ways to get more from the relationships around you?
Let us know in the comments or over on our socials.