Reconome – Supporting Mental Health Awareness Week
“Promise me you’ll always remember — you’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh
Thankfully, taking care of our mental health and that of our family, friends, and colleagues has become a greater priority for us all. However, as you will see from the millions of posts and articles that flood our feeds and inboxes over the coming week, it is still a major concern for many individuals and companies.
According to the MHAW website…Mental health problems are all too common in the workplace, and it is the leading cause of sickness absence. A staggering 70 million workdays are lost each year due to mental health problems in the UK, costing employers approximately £2.4 billion per year.
Awareness weeks like MHAW and the initiatives funded by charities like Mind, Talking Changes, Rethink and Mental Health Awareness (to name a few) mean getting help when needed is far easier than it was. But only when those who need it are willing to accept it.
Sadly, many with mental health issues must first overcome monumental barriers of self-esteem and the stigma surrounding mental health. Because despite the enormous leaps forward, stigma does still exist, especially in the workplace. MHAW suggest 38% of Brits fear revealing a mental health problem at work would jeopardise their career.
Statistics like this have made more of us aware that our 21st-century lives are fragile. We are all living at breakneck speed with the constant pressure to succeed. From working mums to single parents and from city burnout to those who have suffered severe trauma in their lives, mental issues can affect anyone.
Throw COVID-19 into the mix and what you have is a volcano bubbling away, ready to erupt anywhere, any time.
Peer Support for PTSD
Darren, a valued member of the Reconome team, has PTSD. PTSD is perhaps one of the most unpredictable, debilitating mental illnesses. Like others, it affects the sufferer and their loved ones in ways that can only be imagined by those who consider themselves in ‘good mental health’.
Help with his diagnosis and subsequent counselling was made possible by SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity. Even today, several years after that official diagnosis, he participates in weekly peer support groups. These sessions are often a lifeline for him during tougher weeks.
As a thank you to them for their years of support, he has created SITREP, The Veterans Journal. It’s an aide memoire, journal and diary ‘front loaded’ with advice, quotes and grounding techniques for Veterans coping with PTSD.
Former SAS Soldier, Author, Motivational Speaker, and star of the TV reality show “Who Dares Wins” Colin Maclachlan, a PTSD sufferer himself, has written the foreword for the journal.
All profits from sales of the journal will be donated to SSAFA, and you can learn more about Darren’s story here.
This post is to wish him “Good Luck” in his mission to raise money for SSAFA during MHAW and beyond.
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