Mental Health Awareness Week

Founded by The Mental Health Foundation 22 years ago, the 15th – 21st of May is Mental Health Awareness Week.

Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave. This week is to educate the public about mental health issues and to promote better mental health.

This year’s theme is anxiety.

 

Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including exam pressures (the National GCSE Summer Exam series starts during Mental Health Awareness week), relationships, both home and at work, starting or losing a new job and general life events.

With the current cost of living crisis, we can also get anxious about money for basic needs like heating our homes or buying food. Subsequently, some can be at risk of burnout from working too many hours trying to make more money to cover these needs.

In these circumstances, simply offering activities to show willingness will not suffice. Ask your staff/colleagues what would help them with their well-being and managing their stress to devise a plan to help them.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems we can face. In a recent mental health survey, a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they wanted to do a lot of the time. Some of the time, 6/10 adults felt this way. However, it is not all negative news, and taking simple steps to manage your anxiety can help you relax more.

Focusing on anxiety for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will increase our awareness and understanding and provide information on what can help prevent it from becoming a problem. The Mental Health Foundation continue to pressure the government and society to demand change. Thus ensuring improving mental health remains a key priority.

Anxiety is one of the elements of stress. Stress is our body’s response to a harmful life event or threatening situation, regardless of whether the threat is genuine. Stress can affect people in many ways and severity, so what may be considered a stressful situation by one may be of little concern to another. Subsequently, some individuals are better able to handle stress than others.

The latest HSE statistics released 2021/2022 show 914,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic were a considerable factor in work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Work-related stress, depression and anxiety are harmful reaction people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work. The latest estimates provided by Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50% of all work-related ill health cases.

The most recent data shows that compared to all workers, females had statistically significantly higher rates of work-related stress, depression or anxiety and males significantly lower.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the predominant cause of work-related stress, depression or anxiety from the Labour Force Survey (2009/10-2011/12) was workload. In particular, tight deadlines, too much work and too much pressure or responsibility. Other factors identified included a lack of managerial support, organisational changes at work, violence and role uncertainty, for example, lack of clarity about the job or being uncertain about what to do.

Regular exercise can help lower stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins, as well as improving your sleep and self-esteem in the process. Reduce your caffeine intake: High quantities of caffeine can increase stress and anxiety.

Mental health is an integral element of our overall health and should be accepted and acknowledged so that we can learn how to prevent, manage and treat it in the same way we do with physical health.

Acorn Health and Safety provide a range of Mental Health First Aid courses suitable for those interested in Mental Health.

Our portfolio of training includes:

• 2-day Mental Health First Aid 
• 1-day Mental Health Champions  *NEW*
• Half-Day Mental Health First Aid Refresher  *NEW*
• Half-Day Mental Health Awareness
• 3 E-Learning Mental Health Awareness Courses:
  • MCA and DOLS (Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) (EL39) – CPD
  • Mental Health Awareness (EL40) – CPD
  • Stress Management (EL48) – CPD

Our 2-Day Mental Health First Aid training is for those who want to gain the necessary skills to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the best support.

On successful completion, the delegate is qualified to be a Mental Health First Aider, valid for three years. This course programme provides the skills, knowledge and understanding of first aid for mental health and how to support those experiencing distress. We employ many teaching techniques to meet the needs of individual delegates who will learn how to apply the mental health action plan within the context of mental health issues, including depression, suicidal crisis, anxiety and more.

The 1-day Mental Health Champions training is for those who want to become more aware and understand mental health and mental ill health better. It will help empower your organisation to deliver your strategy on well-being by building a network of MHFA Champions who have: Knowledge and confidence to provide Mental Health First Aid for the most common mental health issues and an understanding of how to help build a mentally healthy workplace, challenge stigma and support positive well-being.

The half-day Mental Health First Aid Refresher training will empower Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®) to maintain their skills with regular refresher training to renew their skills and update their knowledge of mental health supports and allows them to practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan. It’s worth noting that only MHFAiders that completed the 2-day MHFA programme are eligible to attend the Refresher programme after three years of completing the MHFAider programme.

Our ½ Day Mental Health awareness training is for those who want to become more aware and understand mental health and mental ill health better. It includes tools for self-care and managing your mental health and equips learners to connect with others who may be suffering from mental health issues more effectively and in an informed way.

Our 3 Mental Health Awareness e-learning courses are for those who want to gain the necessary skills to recognise the signs and symptoms of some common mental health issues.

You can find out more about our Mental Health First Aid courses here.