World Mental Health Day 2020

World Mental Health Day 2020 is the most important one yet. The months of lockdown, loss and uncertainty have had a huge impact on u all, and prioritising mental health has never been more important than it is now.

We all deserve to feel safe and supported when talking about our mental health. But too often, mental health stigma leaves people feeling isolated and ashamed. At worst, it prevents people getting support, finding employment or having open conversations.

Lots of us have felt worried about the coronavirus pandemic, and everyone will feel differently about the changes to lockdown restrictions.

If someone’s feeling anxious or worried, you don’t need to be an expert on mental health to support them. Think about using our three top tips:

1) Check in

If someone doesn’t feel ready to meet face-to-face, picking up the phone, having a video call, starting a group chat or messaging someone on social media lets them know you are there to talk and ready to listen.

2) Listen and reflect

Whether you have a mental health problem or not, this will be a challenging time for our mental health and wellbeing. If someone opens up to you, remember that you don’t need to fix things or offer advice. Often just listening, and showing you take them seriously, can help someone to manage.

3) Ask questions

Ask how people are managing, and ask again if you’re worried they aren’t sharing the full picture. Asking again, with interest, can help someone to open up and explore what they’re feeling.

Working through a Pandemic and the effects it could have on Mental Health

A person is likely to say I am fine on average 14 times a day in response to “how are you?”. This has been particularly prevalent in recent months while remote working, with fewer opportunities for face-to-face interactions and being limited to digital forms of communication.
There’s also a danger that we might minimise our own mental health and wellbeing in times of crisis.

1 in 4 of us will experience mental health problems this year and having a colleague in your corner can make all the difference. Thie World Mental Health Day, it’s important to have conversations around mental health and build your understanding of mental health issues in and out of the workplace.