Chamber HR : This week is #mentalhealthawarenessweek
In the last few years, we have all heard and talked more about mental health and wellbeing. This started during the pandemic when many of us experienced feelings of isolation, anxiety about the future, depression, and it became socially more acceptable to be open about this.
As both a HR professional and a Mental Health First Aid instructor, I see this as a positive.
We all have mental health, in the same way that we all have physical health. When we talk about mental health, the focus can be on the negative, however there are things that we can all do to look after both our physical and mental wellbeing – such as having a healthy diet, getting some exercise, making sure we get plenty of sleep, developing our own support network, having hobbies and interests which can provide a distraction when life is difficult.
When I first started in HR almost 30 years ago, employees were not comfortable talking to their line manager or HR about their mental health - they were concerned that they would be judged, or that it could impact on their job, promotion prospects etc. This made it difficult to manage a situation when an employee was unwell, and/or taking time off sick, but you didn't really know the reasons for this.
Now, we can have open discussions about how a company can support a member of staff who may be struggling, understand what help they are getting from their GP, what they are doing to look after themselves as well.
When I am teaching Mental Health First Aid, if someone is experiencing poor mental health or mental ill health, the aim is to provide a balance between finding appropriate professional help such as a GP, counselling services, voluntary organisations such as the Samaritans or MIND; and encouraging them to put in place their own ways of coping – this can be empowering for someone who feels out of control as they are unwell.
It is also important to be clear what constitutes a 'mental health issue'.
We all have a bad day from time to time - life is not always easy and we all face different challenges at home and work. We will all react to a loss or bereavement, difficult periods at work, a relationship breakdown etc in different ways; this is part of normal human emotions.
According to MHFA England, ‘poor mental health’ is ‘a state that has a negative impact on the way that we think, feel and behave’. This will impact on us in our relationships, and at home and work.
‘Mental ill health’ lasts longer and is more severe than ‘poor mental health’ and is usually a diagnosable medical condition which impacts on someone’s wellbeing and functioning.
If you would like to find out more about #employeewellbeing or #adultmentalhealthfirstaid please get in touch.
For more information, please contact Sarah Darbyshire at HR Solutions Yorkshire
