The past year and a half has been tough on everyone, with many health and social issues being set aside to make way for the COVID19 response. These issues have not gone away and in fact the prevalence of problems such as poor mental health has increased across genders.
The latest research suggests that 1 in 3 men in the UK have experienced suicidal thoughts due to stress and that men are twice as likely twice as likely to die from COVID19. This year’s Men’s Health Week is looking at what we can all do, as we emerge from the pandemic, to improve men’s overall health and wellbeing.
This year The Men’s Forum has come up with a simple plan to engage men, of all ages, to take some action and responsibility for improving their own wellbeing – The “CAN DO Challenge” – and Confetti is right behind it. We will be asking both students and staff to take part in the challenge and take the first steps to improving their wellbeing. Although this is in aid of Men’s Health Week the challenge is open to everyone of all genders as we can all do with better overall health and wellbeing.
The CAN DO challenge:
There are five days of the week and five ways to wellbeing. The five ways to wellbeing are five things we can all do that are scientifically-proven to help us feel better. For the CAN DO Challenge, we’re calling on everyone to choose a different way to wellbeing to try each day of Men’s Health Week. Every day, a different way
The five ways are:
- Connect – connect with other people (eg. call an old friend you haven’t since before lockdown) #connectmonday
- (Be) Active – move your body (eg. go for a run/walk/swim/dance/#activetuesday)
- Notice – take notice of the environment around you (eg. turn off your phone for an hour) #noticewednesday
- Discover – learn something new (eg. read a book you haven’t read before) #discoverthursday
- Offer (or give) – do something for someone else (eg. volunteer for a local community group) #offerfridaye Health forum is
If you are stuck for ideas see the 50 CHAMPION IDEAS FOR THE CAN DO CHALLENGE here
Of course this is a bit of fun to try and get you engaging in your own wellbeing; however, if you are struggling at the moment and are not sure where to turn for advice the Confetti’s Student Services Team are on hand. You can contact them by the following:
Email: StudentServicesReferrals@confetti.ac.uk
Call: 0115 952 2075
Self–refer: https://confetti.ac.uk/sstreferral/
Also, as a confetti student you have access to our online support portal Togetherall, this is a free 24/7 online service with loads of helpful advice, tips, self-assessments and help and more. To access this just use you Confetti email address to sign up here.
