Can we talk?
When it comes to mental health, it is increasingly difficult to separate yourself from work and home and in many cases, the way you feel and react is irrelevant to time of day or your surroundings.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting effect on our lives, with many of us facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Health advice such as social distancing and lock down, is necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19; this can make us feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety, not to mention the financial position that many have found themselves in. While we can find a correlation between failing mental health and COVID (predominantly over the last 18+ months) the sense of not connecting is just as real without it.
Generally, we want to feel as if we are contributing to society, be it work or elsewhere, as we look for a sense of purpose to what we do. Once we cannot find a sense of purpose, we seem to lose connections with our work, family, friends, and society in general. Now let us make this clear, a sense of purpose is not something mystical, it is simply the answer to the questions, why am I doing this? What is the point?
Once these feelings set in you will see a change in behaviour, maybe even some kind of withdrawal, not engaging as before, work quality starting to slip and deadlines being missed. The age-old adage “It’s lonely at the top” rings truer today than it did in the past and if you are a business owner, it is even harder. Anxiety and depression is indiscriminate. The feelings are just as real to anyone going through it; and it can be a very lonely journey.
Failing mental health can take many forms, below just being a few:
Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration
Changes in appetite, energy, desires and interests
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
Difficulty sleeping
Headaches, body pains, stomach problems and skin rashes
Worsening of chronic health problems
Increased use of tobacco, alcohol and other substances
You need to ask yourself, “what am I doing to support the mental health of my staff and most importantly, me?”
You could make the biggest impact in someone’s life, simply by asking if they are ok.
Too often we see Managers or Business Owners struggling with the weight of daily decisions and the responsibility of a team reporting to them. Without proper support, a solid foundation or the skills and knowledge to deal with reporting lines and general business stressors, these individuals and their teams members suffer.
We have seen great benefit in coaching employees, managers, and business owners. This provides a safe and confidential environment in which to express oneself and provide personal development into a more senior role. For business owners it is an opportunity to have a sounding board that allows better decision making; these are not counselling sessions but a professional self-improvement process that gives people direction and purpose and in many cases an understanding of how much control the actually may have over the way they view elements of their working life.
CIP is proud to be part of Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds (HHTS). HHTS is focused on mental health in the transport industry and provides access to resources for the industry through various mental health organisations.
If you would like to know more, please contact CIP or visit the HHTS Roadmap.