Today (Monday, May 9) marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week – and the theme of this year’s event is loneliness.

The theme was chosen by the Mental Health Foundation, which says loneliness is “a significant public health issue” with people of all ages being affected.

The Mental Health Foundation explains: “One in four adults feel lonely some of all of the time. There’s no single cause and there’s no one solution. After all, we’re all different!

“But, the longer we feel lonely, the more we are at risk of mental health problems. Some people are also at higher risk of feeling lonely than others.

“For Mental Health Awareness Week this year, we’re raising awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental health and the practical steps we can take to address it.”

The Mental Health Foundation is sharing a number of different resources as part of the awareness week. You can find out more here.

Is anything happening locally during Mental Health Awareness Week?

Derbyshire County Council is leading an awareness campaign to encourage residents to get involved with different activities and to become more socially connected.

Councillor Carole Hart, cabinet member for health and communities, said: “Feeling lonely or isolated can have a negative impact on your mental health – especially if these feelings go on for a long time. So it’s really important that we all work together to help tackle it.

“There’s lots of organisations and projects across Derbyshire who are working to help people feel more included and less alone.”

Derbyshire County Council has published a list of support available across Amber Valley – and elsewhere in the county. You can find it here.

The Spirit of Alfreton is also developing a list of local coffee mornings, lunch clubs and social groups. We’ll share this with you shortly.