Ways to Improve your Mental Health in the Workplace

There are many ways that an employer can help employees when it comes to mental illness. From increasing the understanding of mental health conditions via courses like these Tidal Training mental health training courses, to having a designated mental health person who can act as a support to people who are struggling with mental illness.

If you are working and are suffering with a mental health condition, there are also things that you can do at work to help yourself. Here are a few ideas…

Managing your time well

Learn and Practise Good Time Management – Something that can make a mental health condition worse is the feeling of increased stress, and the threat of missing a deadline or feeling that you are overwhelmed with work can have a negative effect on your mental wellbeing. There are lots of great time management techniques, find some that help you.

Using breathing techniques

Breathing – Learning breathing techniques can help you to keep calm and remain focused – and the best thing is you can do them anywhere, regardless of where you work, and you don’t need any tools to help you! Regulating the breathing and taking deep breaths., like the 4,6,8 breathing technique can help when you feel panicky or overwhelmed.

Talking to someone you trust

Talk – You don’t have to go around telling everyone, but letting a trusted person, either a colleague, first aider, or manager know that you have a mental illness will mean that they will be aware of it, and you will have someone who knows what is going on for you.

Summary

Employers can support staff mental health through training courses and by designating someone employees can turn to for support. Individuals can also help themselves at work, starting with good time management to reduce the stress of feeling overwhelmed or facing deadlines. Simple breathing techniques can help in the moment, while talking to a trusted colleague, first aider or manager ensures support is available when it’s needed.

Questions this article raises

• What time management techniques work best under pressure?
• How can employers train staff to support mental health?
• Who should an employee approach first about a mental health concern?