Polycrisis. It’s a word that no-one wanted to invent. But the pressures of work insecurity / unemployment, underlying worries about global warming, the unsettling threat and promise of Artificial Intelligence, the unreliable lure of social media, not to mention ever more polarised politics, they all work on us as individuals. The effect can be panic, loneliness, unease and fear. Fear even of being seen to be suffering from these anxieties, fear of being found out to be struggling, vulnerable, at sea.
The irony is, often the greater the concerns, the less we speak about them, not knowing perhaps that so many other people are in the same situation. And that help is at hand.
Which is why for Mental Health Awareness Day this year, Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists are asking How Are You? at an all day event on Saturday 16 May at the Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands. Talks from the like of 3 Dads Walking, Alex and Hugh Addison and Borderline Challenge will consider teenage suicide, rural isolation and how to raise awareness of mental health challenges facing so many of us today.
There will be stalls run by people who are not only clued up about different aspects of the subject, but talk our language. There’ll be coffee, tea and knowing us, cake. And if you find you could just do with a bit of peace and quiet, there’ll be a dedicated space where you can find just that.
Save the date. We look forward to seeing you and asking that question we hear every day: how are you. Or rather, how are you really?