Pop-Up ‘Happy Cafés’ Help Promote Mental Health Over Coffee And A Cake

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by Anna Brech |
Published on

The public narrative around mental health has opened up in recent years, in a stigma-breaking move that's been helped by public figures such as Prince William and Harry.

Both heirs to the throne have gone public in the past few months about how they struggled with grief over their mother Princess Diana's death, as part of the Heads Together campaign to shatter the stigma of conditions such as anxiety and depression.

But for the conversation to continue building momentum, we need support at a local level too.

And that's where so-called 'happy cafés' come in.

Two more of these pop-up centres for wellbeing are being launched in Cambridgeshire this summer, following their successful introduction within the Brighton area a few years ago.

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Prince William and Harry have been instrumental in opening up a dialogue around mental health ©Rex

These community-centred hubs are not affiliated with any kind of religion or political group, and feature a range of literature, posters, pamphlets and postcards relating to happiness.

They're an open forum where members of the public can express themselves and receive help and support from dedicated Action for Happiness supporters.

Two versions - the 'Happy Café' formed by retired teacher Kathryn Pearcey and 'Talking FreELY' by former police officer Anthony Sigrist - will arrive in the city of Ely this July, the Cambridge News reports.

"The idea came to me because I initially didn't have very good mental wellbeing after I finished work," Kathryn tells the paper. "I came across this national charity, Action for Happiness, and their resources made a big impact of my mental wellbeing, so when I was well enough I wanted to tell other people about it.

"The way to get it into the community and allow people to have access to the resources was for me to find a local cafe to host meetings and activities because there is nothing that replaces face-to-face contact."

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The pop-ups are a place to receive support and share advice on mental health issues ©Getty

"My inspiration is to get men talking about mental health because we aren't very good at it," says Anthony, who has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past.

"The biggest killer of men under 50 is suicide and I think one of the other problems is stigma.

"Whenever you hear mental health talked about you see pictures of people holding their heads in their hands and that is not the 'catch all' face of mental health."

The drop-in centres will raise awareness of mental health issues, and share coping mechanisms - as well as sharing resources that promote happiness and wellbeing.

Cambridge-based mental health professional Lisa Buckingham says these hubs are "vitally important" in empowering people "to talk about how they experience their own mental health in an environment where they feel supported or can share their own experiences to help others".

There are now over 20 happy cafés across the UK, which work on a ground-level, pop-up basis.

Around one in four people in the UK will suffer a mental health problem every year. For help and support, visit mind.org. Find out more about the locations of the Cambridge pop-ups here.

Read More: Six Women We Admire On Tackling Anxiety And Depression

Read More: 'How Can I Make My Parents Understand My Depression?'

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