Demand for mental health services have risen by 34% says Kooth

ellieswindaleLeave a comment

As the need for mental health services rise during lockdown, digital access has become essential for those with mental illness.

The Manchester college has become one of many institutions in Greater Manchester to offer the free online counselling resource ‘Kooth’ to its young people.

‘Kooth’ is a counselling and emotional well-being service aimed at young people aged 11-18 years old. The service offers a live chat resource, self help pages, a magazine written by users for users and chat forums. It is easily accessible online through a non-referral website. All is asked is the name of the institute and age, to confirm Kooth is available at the school/college the student attends.

Research by XenZone, the mental health service offering support to children, adults and businesses, shows the sharp increase in mental illness related to Covid-19 from April 2019 – April 2020.

Data source: Kooth data release
https://about.kooth.com/covid19-data/

Being in lockdown has meant lots of children and adults are in a position they’ve never been in before. For people with mental illness this can be very scary, and creating new strategies to cope can be difficult without the support they usually receive.

This does not only affect people with already diagnosed conditions. Lockdown has caused increased anxiety manifesting in a range of other symptoms. This has meant a sharp increase in the need for mental health services, when seeing a GP is unavailable.

View this post on Instagram

During #isolation it's so easy to feel like pressure to learn a new skill, become a world-class baker or join loads of big group chats. Please remember it's OK to put yourself first 💙 Say no to a social activity, a workout you planned to do or that creative session you were meant to have if you need to. Look after number one and take some time to lay low and relax if you're not feeling your best. Remember those lovely activities will still be there when you feel up to it 🌻 . . . #TakeCare #LookingAfterMe #BeKind #MentalHealth #MentalHealthSupport #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #relaxation #TimeOut #advice #help #support #MakingADifference #inspiration #wellbeing #wellness #coronavirus #covid19

A post shared by Kooth (@kooth_uk) on

At the start of April Andy Burham announced an agreement in response to the rise in demand and to try and minimise the need for GP appointments. These services included a bereavement service providing callers with the opportunity to talk to someone about their loss. Similarly, text service SHOUT offers a 24/7 helpline – simply texting your area of Manchester e.g. ‘GMManchester’ to 85258.

‘The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership’ created a mental health website listing all the mental health services in Greater Manchester. This includes free online resources all children and adults can access. There is also Covid-19 specific resources created by a number of mental health charities including Mind.

The development and advertisement of these services on social media, through local impact studies by XenZone and the Greater Manchester council, has meant the reach of these services is ever growing. Universities, schools and college can contact XenZone to provide free access to their services for all students.

For more information on access to Greater Manchester mental health services during lockdown, a list of services can be found here by clicking on the category that relates most to you.

Victoria Bath’s history: from swimming bath to cinema

ellieswindaleLeave a comment

Originally a men’s swimming gala and Turkish baths suite, Victoria Bath’s now hosts many events throughout the year, from yoga festivals to pop up cinema screenings.

When building work was complete in 1906 it gained the nickname ‘The Water Palace’ after £59,000 was spent, double the amount of a normal swimming bath at that time. Hot water and heating was produced by Galloway boilers fired by hand shovelled coal furnaces, the same boilers used in steam trains.

Source: VisitManchester.com

Manchester Corporation built several ‘Victorian Turkish Bath’s’ around Manchester, including Victoria Bath’s. The first Turkish bath opened to the public in England was in 1857 on Broughton Lane Manchester, with the first display advertisement in 1858 by William Potter.

Potter claimed a Turkish bath could cure a number of aliments such as colds, influenza, gout, rheumatism, and liver disorders and stated this in his advert. Whilst others at the time appealed to women promising softer hair and a more beautiful complexion.

Source: Victorianturkishbath.org http://www.victorianturkishbath.org/2HISTORY/atozhist/Review/aapix/3Barter/DisplayAd_w.htm

Surprisingly, at several baths women were given separate entrances or were given time slots in which only women were allowed. Fines were placed on any man who entered the women’s bathroom by proprietors, wishing to give women a therapeutic and comfortable experience.

However, women’s facilities were considerably smaller and could only be used once or twice a week. They were given the men’s smaller second class bath’s meaning they were often very crowded.

The main element that makes The Turkish bath different to other types including The Roman bath (a mix of both) and Russian bath (steam room) is the type of hot air. While most steam rooms and saunas use hot wet air, the Turkish bath uses hot dry air in which the user moves from one room to another progressing in temperature in order to sweat as much as possible.

This was then followed by a cold water plunge and a full body wash and massage, often called the shampooing room. They would then finally sit in the cooling room to relax. Victoria Bath’s contained three hot rooms, a shampooing room, a shower, Russian bath and a rest room.

Many used the bath’s not only to swim and relax but also to wash. As many didn’t have access to their own toilet or clean running cold water, let alone hot, for the richest in society this became a bathing spot.

By the 1920s mixed sessions were run every Sunday at Victoria Bath’s allowing for family swimming sessions and by the 1930s treated water was introduced to kill bacteria and allow for reusable water.

There were many award winning swimmers who trained at the bath’s including channel swimmer Sunny Lowry and Olympic swimmer John Besford.

In the winter months, the water was cleared and the bottom of the gala pool was used for dances and bowling. It brought the community together in more ways than one over the decades, but in 1993 it was closed by the council due to unjust expenditure. Large protests to keep the community spot open were sadly ignored.

The space is now used for pop-up cinema events which are very popular. Deck chairs in the pool bottom and the seats surrounding the pool are used for showings of popular movies at Valentines, Christmas and Halloween. It has also been used for art exhibitions and offers detailed tours to visitors on Sunday open days.

Source: VisitManchester.com

After winning the BBC’s programme providing a large grant in 2003, restoration continues. Victoria Bath’s hopes to establish the building as a “vibrant international heritage visitor attraction” celebrating the nation’s swimming history in an “inspirational setting for events and contemporary arts; promoting health and well-being by restoring the well-loved architectural gem so the public may again experience the Turkish Baths and swim in an historic pool.”

More information can be found at Victoria Bath’s website here.

Cartoon of a yoga session

Shanthi Yoga’s Hebe Reilly and her creation of a women’s yoga community

ellieswindaleLeave a comment

Yoga has become a very popular form of exercise and relaxation technique. Hebe Reilly, the yoga instructor of Shanthi Yoga Manchester, teaches classes at the Brunswick Parish Church every Tuesday morning and other locations around Manchester.

Sitting yoga pose on a pink yoga matt

She teaches different forms of yoga for all abilities, creating a very inclusive space for the community of Ardwick and Greater Manchester. I spoke to Hebe on the importance of a women’s community and how she’s overcome continuing to teach despite the pandemic.

She said: “Over time yoga has offered me so much more than a physical strengthening/rehabilitation tool.

“It gives me a sense of deep peace, and a pause from all of the ongoing busyness of the mind, and of daily life. 

“For many of the women in the group, they feel much more comfortable practising yoga and/or exercising in a women’s only space.

View this post on Instagram

How are you coping with this very scary & constantly changing landscape? Normally, I don’t meditate (I know I’m a yoga teacher 🙈). I tell myself I’m “too busy, I’ve not got the time”. A few weeks ago, my gal @cngxx gave me the FANTASTIC advice to meditate. Every day. And to commit to it. “You wouldn’t skip brushing you teeth, so don’t skip meditation” And it is really helping. It’s not perfect. This morning I felt distracted, the cat really wanted to play, my phone buzzed, I looked 😱 but I sat & I stayed & tomorrow I’ll do it again. Right now, this daily commitment is really helping. Helping to slow the torrent of panic & hyper productivity that are running through my brain. It’s like a filtration system for all the thoughts & I come out a bit calmer, with a bit more space in between each one to process. If you too are struggling to stay afloat in a constantly changing world – give daily meditation a go. Just sit. 10 mins, 20 mins, 60 if you feel like it. Sit, be & breathe. 🙏 #dailymeditation #yogisofmanchester #meditate #shanthi

A post shared by Shanthi_Yoga_Mcr (@shantiyogamcr) on

Hebe first became connected to Brunswick Parish Church when working as the Arts Facilitator leading a year-long project exploring the connection between arts, health and wellbeing with The Women’s Footprint Group.

The group is culturally diverse and intergenerational offering a ‘Creative Wellbeing’ programme by connecting the community through activities and events. After creating a 4-week taster course in yoga, it became very popular within the group.

“Initially I started practising yoga to help me deal with ongoing issues I have with my knees and I liked the physical practice.  

“Following the popularity of the 4 week course, we applied for some funding … later being funded by the NHS to continue to offer accessible yoga to women at Brunswick Parish Church.

In a highly student populated area, she explained the importance of taking time to relax: “What I love about yoga is that it is non-competitive, and it should always feel good to your body.  

“I hope to give others the opportunity to move and stretch their bodies – to feel a sense of freedom from pain and tension in the physical body.  I also offer breathing and relaxation techniques to help students feel a sense of freedom and peace.

Before the official government announcement Hebe offered a ‘chair yoga’ session she said: “There was a strange atmosphere as at the time we didn’t know what the future would hold in terms of lockdown or Coronavirus.

“The final session before the lockdown was very small – in fact only three women attended and two of them work at Brunswick Parish Church. We followed guidelines of social distancing.

Hebe has been able to move her classes online using Zoom to create a series of Chair Yoga videos for the members of the Women’s Footprint.

“I release these once a week on a Tuesday at the time when we used to have our classes at Brunswick. I hope this will offer some kind of sense of routine for women who are isolated at home.

“I have been really surprised at how the Zoom classes have been working for me too.  I had never heard of Zoom before lock-down.

“I have been really happy to be able to connect with my students via the online space and have started to offer new yoga courses which have been really popular.

“I think people are looking for ways to keep active during lockdown, and practising yoga is a good way to keep moving and introduce relaxation into your life.  It is a nice time to try new things and you can try yoga in the comfort of your own home. 

Pink yoga matt and white trainers

Whilst teaching others, Hebe added how important a routine is in helping protect your mental health: “This [teaching] has really helped give me a sense of structure and routine during lockdown.  I am learning however that too much screen time is not good for me, so I am trying to make sure I get outside in the fresh air at least once a day.

“Lockdown has given me the time and space to begin a regular daily mediation practice. I do this for 10 to 20 minutes each morning and it has been really helping reduce stress and anxiety.”

To join Hebe’s beginner yoga classes you can access more information on her website here. 

Or you can contact Hebe at hebereilly@gmail.com.

Instagram: @shanthiyogamcr | Facebook: Shanthi Yoga Manchester