In advance of Mental Health Awareness week (15-21 May), Erika Lynch recently attended a Mental Health First Aid course with Aberdeen First Aid School, and was really encouraged with the openness of her fellow attendees, in sharing their own personal experiences of dealing with Mental Health issues, both on a personal level and in the workplace.
We are all busy managing our daily lives, focusing on the job at hand, prioritising our time, and hoping we make it through unscathed to the end of the week, where we can down tools and hopefully take time to relax and check-in with our nearest & dearest. But can you honestly say that on a daily basis we take time to grab a coffee with a friend or colleague, or take 10 minutes to give someone a call that we keep putting off ?
It’s the small things that matter the most to people, and just being aware of how others are feeling, whether you know they are struggling and need a little extra support, or if you have genuine concerns that something is going on, but just don’t know how to approach them, then think:
C – Check for signs of distress
A – Attention, listen to what they say – don’t judge them
R – Reassure, let them know its okay to talk about their feelings
E – Encourage professional support if needed
Emotional and mental health affects us all, its how we think, feel and behave – I encourage you all to make a connection with someone today and check-in on them, who knows what difference you will make to that person!