Awareness Days - July 2022
There is only a small number of awareness days and campaigns in July, see below for more details.
Healthwatch Stockport's Picks
You can click on the pink text to take you straight to the relevant campaign or awareness day.
Talk To Us
24th July
Samaritans are here to listen 24/7 for anyone that needs them. But they’re also encouraging people to become better listeners.
Becoming a better listener can help you support loved ones who may be struggling to cope. It can also help improve your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. You could help your loved ones open up about how they’re feeling by making some small changes to the way you listen. Why not try pledging one of the following things:
- I pledge to listen without being distracted
- I pledge to listen without interrupting
- I pledge to check in with my loved ones more often and ask them how they really are
Listen without being distracted
Try things like making eye contact, putting your phone away and focusing completely on the other person. If you’re talking to someone on the phone, try doing it in a quiet place.
Listen without interrupting
Try and remember that pauses are fine, you don’t need to jump in and fill a silence. Resist putting your own interpretation on what the other person is saying, and repeat back what they say so it shows you’re listening.
Check in on loved ones
Why not try adding reminders to your calendar or phone, to check in with loved ones once or twice a week. Don’t give up, sometimes it can take a few tries to get someone to open up about how they’re feeling.
Campaigns and Awareness Days
Work compiled by Pat Goddard (Healthwatch Stockport Office Volunteer)
Thank you Day 2022
5th June
The past couple of years have been testing for all of us.
But with The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this summer there’s never been a better excuse for great big party, to say thank you to everyone who has helped us through.
That’s why Sunday 5th June is this year’s Thank You Day.
We’re getting together as friends, families, neighbours and communities, to raise a glass to The Queen for 70 years outstanding service, and say a great big thank you to each other as well.
Let’s do it in style. Make sure everyone is included, get the school band to play, invite the next street over.
Let’s make this the biggest thank you party ever!
National Bereaved Parents Day
3rd July
National Bereaved Parents Day will take place on Sunday 3rd July to raise awareness of all parents who have lost a child of any age, and from any circumstance.
Please join us to help spread the message, keep that conversation going, raise awareness and show the bereaved parent community that they are NOT alone.
This year’s theme is Remember Me. Remembering all of the children gone too soon.
Please follow our Facebook page to see how you can get involved and show your support.
National Schizophrenia Awareness Day
25th July
National Schizophrenia Awareness Day on 25 July shines a light on the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the UK and millions more worldwide. It sets out the steps we can all take to break down the stigma and discrimination surrounding this much-misunderstood illness.
One in 100 people will experience schizophrenia; it's not as uncommon as you think. And while attitudes to mental health have changed, the stigma surrounding schizophrenia remains stubbornly high. In our recent survey about stigma and mental illness, three in four people felt that levels of stigma had not changed in the last decade.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a very complex condition that can affect how a person thinks, feels, and experiences the world around them. While schizophrenia is an official diagnosis, people can often experience very different symptoms. The most common symptoms can include:
- Audio hallucinations (hearing voices)
- Delusions
- Disorganised thinking
- Changes in body language or emotions
You can find a complete list of symptoms on our advice and information pages
Does schizophrenia mean split personality?
In a word, no. Schizophrenia doesn't mean split personality - the term actually means schizo (to split) and phrene (the mind). Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler first used 'schizophrenia' in 1911 to emphasise the mental confusion and fragmented mental state that many people experiencing the condition felt. Today schizophrenia is widely used, but it is not without controversy. Many people experiencing schizophrenia feel that the term is too broad and should be abandoned.
World Hepatitis Day
28th July
With a person dying every 30 seconds from a hepatitis related illness – even in the current COVID-19 crisis – we can’t wait to act on viral hepatitis.
- People living with viral hepatitis unaware can’t wait for testing
- People living with hepatitis can’t wait for life saving treatments
- Expectant mothers can’t wait for hepatitis screening and treatment
- Newborn babies can’t wait for birth dose vaccination
- People affected by hepatitis can’t wait to end stigma and discrimination
- Community organisations can’t wait for greater investment
- Decision makers can’t wait and must act now to make hepatitis elimination a reality through political will and funding.
