Being a mental health first aider
Stephen Ramsey, Senior Change Delivery Manager at BGL Tech explains why he became Mental Health First Aider and how he’s been supporting his own wellbeing and that of his team:
I’ve been with BGL for nearly 17 years and as a result I’ve seen a lot of change. But one thing that’s always been a constant is the high priority placed on colleague welfare. It’s just never been something we’ve been prepared to compromise on.
You don’t have to look far to see the effort that goes into it — we have a whole host of tools and benefits available to support our colleagues with their physical, financial and emotional wellbeing and BGL’s mental health first aid programme is a good example of that. This month, across the business, we’re putting the spotlight on wellbeing with free webinars, short courses and online fitness sessions just some of the activities planned.
What is a mental health first aider?
Our Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs)are a group of trained individuals who will confidentially listen and help colleagues in their time of need — whether they’re feeling stressed, anxious or maybe just not feeling themselves and want someone to talk to. There is also a phone line which will ring through to the next available MHFA, so there is always someone on hand during office hours.
Why I became a mental health first aider
I’ve seen first-hand the corrosive effect mental health problems can have, the blight that they can have on a life, and the importance of intervention and support. When the Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) programme was launched, I wasn’t sure if it was for me. It all felt a bit too close to home, given my own experiences of watching someone go through challenging mental health problems. I didn’t know if I would actually be able to support others, whether I’d had training or not.
Then I spoke to some other MHFAs and the positive way they spoke about not just the course, but the support network that BGL was building, encouraged me to rethink.
I’m firmly in the camp of ‘if I write it down, I’ll have to do it’, so I put it on my PDP and put myself on the waiting list for the next course. As it happened, my face-to-face training was interrupted by the onset of Covid and lockdown, meaning it had to be completed virtually.
The training
The sense of disruption and uncertainty I felt at this time made the content of the training really relatable, and brought home the importance of what we were doing; I can’t think of a time when mindfulness about mental health wellbeing has ever been more relevant in the workplace.
The training was four half-day sessions, led by a MHFA trainer. It was a mixture of group and individual learning and covered all aspects of mental health from anxiety and depression to phobias, panic attacks, psychosis and much more. At it’s heart, it is a first aid course, and like physical first aid, mental health first aid is very much about being able to recognise signs, and keep someone safe and well until professional help can be provided. Having done it, I feel much better equipped to help someone ‘in the moment’ who may be struggling, and help get them to the right resources.
I can’t think of a time when mindfulness about mental health wellbeing has ever been more relevant in the workplace.
Mental health and lockdown
For me, lockdown — in all forms— has been a real challenge. I’m very much a social person and the sense of isolation when lockdown first hit was palpable. Combine that with the stress of having children at home who were bored, and probably lonely themselves without access to their friends, and it soon became clear to me that I needed a strategy to deal with it.
We did various things at work to make sure we stayed connected. In Business Technology we have a community of people managers who meet every month. As soon as lockdown started, we moved those sessions to weekly, to make sure we were supporting each other and looking out for our colleagues across the department.
Teams were encouraged to take time out of their day to connect socially, and they started to share quizzes and other games with each other. The ‘cross section of a chocolate bar’ and ‘whose fridge is this?’ are still some of my favourites and ones we’ll definitely be resurrecting in this latest lockdown.
The crowning moment of all the department socials though, has to be Friday Fizz - the most chaotic quiz I’ve ever taken part in, and the fancy dress version where I joined in as a pirate is a fond memory!
Just because someone was coping last week, doesn’t mean they will be next week.
I think the danger now is complacency. We’ve been working remotely for so long now that it’s become normal and it could be easy to think that everyone has accepted the latest lockdown and is just getting on with it, but then we run the risk of missing signs that someone might be struggling.
Just because someone was coping last week, doesn’t mean they will be next week. The MHFA training I did will help me continue to be vigilant for signs in others, and self-aware about my own mental wellbeing. If you’re struggling, or you know someone else that is, reach out.
Support
- Samaritans provide someone to talk to who’s not in any way connected to your family, friends or workplace. You can contact the Samaritans any time by calling 116 123.
- Shout is the UK’s first free 24/7 text service for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. It’s a place to go if you’re struggling to cope and you need immediate help. You can reach them by texting 85258.
- The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) offers an accredited confidential, anonymous and free support, information and signposting to men anywhere. It has a helpline (0800 58 58 58) and a webchat service which are available 365 days a year from 5pm to midnight.
- Mind provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. If you need non-urgent information about mental health support and services that may be available to you, please call our Infoline on 0300 123 3393, text 86463 or email info@mind.org.uk.
- Survivors UK supports male rape and sex abuse victims. It operates a national helpline 7 days a week from 12–8pm via webchat, text (020 3322 1860) or Whatsapp (0749 181 6064).
