Happy Heads, Calm Minds, Emotional Wellness (Mental Health) – call it what you like…
A few clients have given us feedback: “Using the words Mental Health can be scary for some and even put staff off from signing up for courses”. Even though the words Mental Health are prolifically used nowadays, the M-Word still feels “strong” for some of us.
This “feeling” of not being able to relate to a word or phrase could be due to many factors:
- One could be due to days gone past when Mental Asylums were still operational. Asylums date back to Victorian times, yet the last few were closed in very recent times – the 1980’s. They had a reputation as a place of misery where “inmates” were locked up and left to the mercy of their keepers.
- Consider too, our different backgrounds – every culture will have it’s own way of making sense of this subjective topic. Our cultural influences will dictate how we are going to cope with mental illness, seek help and discuss this subject as a whole.
- The way the media portray mental illness is pivotal to the stigma and discrimination creating barriers to treatment and recovery. The distorted and demeaning representations that shape public attitudes are thankfully changing.
Whilst stigma and discrimination remain, talking about this topic and raising awareness is invaluable. It helps to break these barriers, encourages early intervention and is good business practice. What is important to consider is we all experience Mental Health be it good, poor or somewhere in-between. Like our physical health it changes all the time.
Our knowledge sharing and education will help create a positive culture.
It encourages:
– Good practice in recruitment
– Prevention and keeping your people well
– Early intervention
– How to talk to someone experiencing mental distress
– What support is available
– Good Management practice
– Business legal obligations
– Supporting staff returning to work
Some companies we work with choose to re-frame this topic with a new name the likes of Calm Minds, Happy Heads, Positive Emotional Health. It’s important to call your offering what you like – something that fits with your culture, engages your people, something they can relate to. We spend a third of our lives in the workplace, so let’s work together to get the word out there.
If you want to spread the word and grow awareness ask us about our half day Mapping Mental Health course.
Stay Well,
Leigh McKay
Recent Comments