The importance of Relationships in our lives

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Relationships. Our connection to others is crucial to our mental wellbeing.

​The Mental Health Foundation which promotes good mental health and who instigated #MHAW16 has produced a new report which calls relationships the “forgotten foundation of wellbeing”:

Relationships in the 21st century: the forgotten foundation of mental health and wellbeing

​Writer and Political Economist Will Hutton also put it well in an article for the Guardian: ‘We are social beings, and the building blocks of happiness lie in looking out for each other, acting together, being in teams and pursuing common goals for the common good’.
 
Not only are these connections important for us as individuals; they are important for us as a society, as they promote cohesiveness and a sense of community. Many of the pressures we face today like exams, work stress and financial worries undermine our sense of wellbeing. Young people, especially, are under stress because of the competitive climate we have in schools and in the employment market and because of the shortage of affordable housing.

​At BYHP we offer holistic and non-judgemental support to young people.
 
We have an Employability Course called Unlocking Potential in which each individual is supported and enabled to fulfil his or her potential. We have a Peer Support Group where young people support each other and eat together like a family and we have a Counselling Service for young people.
 
We also offer Housing and Homelessness Advice and support. Uncertainty regarding housing often weighs heavily on relationships and can be the source of poor mental health, impacting a young person’s overall wellbeing.
 
In providing support in each of these areas, building positive relationships with young people is fundamental to all the work we do here at BYHP.
 
If you or someone you know could benefit from BYHP’s help please contact us for more information

01295 259 442
2 Chandos Close, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 4TL
 
enquiries@byhp.org.uk

Ros Jones MBACP - Wellbeing Practitioner