Mental wellbeing
Most people know and understand how important it is to maintain good physical health, but it is only recently we have all started to put more emphasis on, and are paying more attention to our mental health.
Mental ill-health can strike anyone at any time, never more so than during an ongoing period of stress like the COVID19 pandemic.
What is mental health and mental wellbeing?
The World Health Organization defines it as,
“Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder. It is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”
Read on for mental health information and resources.
Reasonable Adjustments for Mental Health: ACAS
It is important for employers to take an employee’s mental health problem seriously and with the same care as a physical illness. Acas has new guidance and resources to help support employers and employees when handling reasonable adjustments for mental health at work, including practical steps and what considerations they should be aware of.
The advice covers:
- What reasonable adjustments for mental health are
- Examples of reasonable adjustments for mental health
- Requesting reasonable adjustments for mental health
- Responding to reasonable adjustments for mental health requests
- Managing employees with reasonable adjustments for mental health
- Reviewing policies with mental health in mind
The guidance can be found here: https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-mental-health
Mental Health First Aid England
Mental Health First Aid England provides different training courses for workplaces to empower people to spot mental health issues.
They also have an excellent wellbeing checklist which they encourage we all do weekly.
Wellbeing check-up pdf.
They also have great resources for ways to support your mental health while working from home including self-care tips. – mhfaengland.org/remote-working-resources/everyone/
Mind.org.uk
Mind.org.uk has some great tips for those struggling to maintain mental wellbeing during the ongoing COVID19 and for learning to live with it.
They have a specific page for ‘Difficult feelings about the coronavirus pandemic’.
This page discusses the difficult emotions and feelings you may be having as we transition to learning to live with the virus, This is a huge change in each of our lives and change can be incredibly challenging for many people. This page also gives advice on what you may be feeling about and practical ways to help you manage these feelings. It also links to the UK and Welsh government latest guidance.
Remember:
Things might feel hard right now, but this situation is unusual. And it won’t last forever.
In the meantime, there are lots of ways to help yourself cope.
From mind.org.uk
NHS – Every mind matters
Every mind matters is a campaign created by Public Health England, with tips and advice developed with experts and approved by the NHS.
This website allows you to get your own Mind Plan, which requires you to complete 5 quick questions for a free plan ‘to help you deal with stress and anxiety, improve your sleep, boost your mood and feel more in control’.
