Editor

During Mental Health Awareness Week last week we concentrated our minds on how all forms of mental health affect people in society. We may perhaps also want to consider how it affects those who have had to self isolate and don’t ordinarily suffer from mental health issues.

We should also take a minute to reflect on what it could mean for people who already suffer from mental health issues, from depression right through the spectrum of mental health illnesses, and take time to try to understand what effect it can have on their everyday life.

We see on our televisions and read in our newspapers of the tremendous work being undertaken by NHS staff, the long hours in hot and uncomfortable PPE, sadly in some cases witnessing the fruits of their labour come to naught as people succumb to Covid-19. All this having not just a physical toll on them, but also a mental toll on those wonderfully dedicated professionals.

Let us also not forget the upheaval this change of regime can and does have on those loved ones who sadly suffer from dementia in all its forms.

Mental Health Awareness Week followed quickly on from the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe. Can I ask you to spare a moment of reflection to try to understand the effects that conflict can have on young men and women’s mental health. It can be catastrophic for them and for their families, not only in the immediate aftermath of the conflict but for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for taking the time to read this plea to remember all those who struggle with their mental health and in these uncertain times please ‘stay safe and stay well’.

Cllr Paul Hinge, A Veteran and Ceredigion County Council’s Armed Forces Champion

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