World Mental Health Day 2024
Mental health is important every day. World Mental Health Day reminds us to try to make time to stop and reflect.
10/10/2024
At OPFS, we know how hard it can be to prioritise you and your own mental health as a single parent.
We all experience worries and anxious thoughts to some extent. If things start piling up you might find that you are becoming affected by stress in your everyday life. If you need to talk, we can be there to listen and offer you advice and support.
On the 10th of October, World Mental Health Day 2024 will be shining a light on the difficulties of coping with stress and burnout in the workplace.
At OPFS we know that you might have to juggle many unpaid work responsibilities every day as a single parent.
OPFS is dedicated to helping all single parents in Scotland, no matter the situation. Our My Life & Me health and wellbeing website has many resources to help you combat stress, including lifestyle tips, advice and support.
Stress can affect our mental health, physical wellbeing and relationships with others. These types of symptoms can be manageable in small doses, but it’s a good idea to consider ways of decreasing your stress levels to avoid burnout.
It’s also important to know the differences between stress and burnout.
Burnout, according to Mental Health UK, “can occur when you experience long-term stress and feel under constant pressure.”
Common signs of stress can include:
- Having trouble sleeping
- Low energy levels
- Racing thoughts and anxieties
- Difficult emotions
Common signs of burnout can include:
- Insomnia
- Feeling like a failure, helpless, trapped or defeated
- Loss of interest and enjoyment or a lack of sense of achievement
- Decreased focus and productivity
- Becoming isolated from others
- Reliance on coping mechanisms like drugs, alcohol and food
If you can relate to any of these, you are not alone.
Whether you are experiencing any of the above, or you know that you have been struggling with a separate mental health issue, help is available. Looking after your own mental health whilst trying to balance everything else as a single parent is hard. You might even be experiencing complex emotions, physical symptoms and reactions which you’re not sure how to manage.
There are some useful links relating to specific queries at the bottom of this page. This includes support for you, your child and general mental health information.
Sometimes you just need to talk it out.
We care, and we are here to help you. Our helpline is available to contact from Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 4pm. We are here to discuss anything that is worrying you, from dealing with a break-up to work stress and mental health concerns. We also operate a live chat during the same hours, which you can use if you would prefer.
We understand that mental health is a huge part of everyone’s life and comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There is never a one size fits all solution and we want to cater our work to your needs. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We will always listen without stigma, shame, or discrimination.
Call the Lone Parent Helpline 0808 801 0323
Support for you
Support for your child
- YoungMinds is a charity seeking to support young people with their mental health, as well as the adult caregivers in their lives. They have a page on talking to your child about mental health.
- The NHS has a useful page on supporting a child or young person with mental health needs.
- Childline has lots of advice and information for children dealing with all sorts of mental health difficulties.
- CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is the NHS service for children and young people under 18 years old. The service helps those struggling with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. YoungMinds has more information about CAMHS services.
Mental health information
- If you are looking for guidance on mental health information, the NHS self-help page has further details.
- There is information about different mental health conditions on Mental Health UK.