THE Western Trust is supporting World Mental Health Day today (Friday) by highlighting the importance of resilience.

As part of the calendar of events supported by the Public Health Agency (PHA) to highlight World Suicide Prevention and World Mental Health Day, the Trust’s Health Improvement Department is hosting a number of resilience seminars in the local community.

Yesterday a resilience seminar was held at the City Hotel, Derry/Londonderry.

Marie Dunne, Health Improvement Department explains the importance of resilience: “Resilience is the ability to cope well and bounce back from the pressures and uncertainty that we all face from time to time in our lives. The good news is that although some people seem to be born with more resilience than others, those whose resilience is lower can learn how to boost their ability to cope, thrive and flourish when the going gets tough. Our resilience seminars offer a range of strategies that involve our behaviours, thoughts and actions. We all can create strategies to help increase resilience and promote our mental and emotional wellbeing.’’ Marie added: “We are all under increasing amounts of pressure both at work and in our personal lives. Some days we can cope well with a range of demands and at other times we can feel a bit overwhelmed and unable to cope. It is recognised that resilience can help individuals to identify and build on their inner resources in order to help them deal more effectively with stressful situations.” The two hour interactive resilience workshop aims to: Define emotional resilience; Examine the impact of stress in our everyday life; Introduce you to a range of practical strategies to help build your own personal resilience; and inform you of the range of support available.

The next resilience seminar is on October 23, from 7pm in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh. The event is open for anyone to attend.

To book a place or to find out more about other forthcoming resilience seminars, contact the Western Trust’s Health Improvement Department on 028 7186 5127 or email: health.improvement@westerntrust.hscni.net A copy of the calendar of events is available on the Trust's website: www.westerntrust.hscni.net and Facebook site.