Mental Health AwarenessMay 2019

Feel Good About Who You AreHosted by the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from Monday 13th to Sunday 19th May 2019. The theme this year is; Body Image - how we think and feel about our bodies.

Since the first Mental Health Awareness Week in 2001, topics like stress, relationships, loneliness, altruism, sleep, alcohol and friendship have all been championed. This month we are championing the subject of low self-esteem. We will be talking about walking and how it benefits our mental health and wellbeing.

Josephine Bey Clinical Director – Wellbeing Solutions Management

Mental Health Awareness @ workMental Health is still a taboo subject but it is becoming a more approachable topic, especially in the workplace. 1 in 4 people suffer from mental health related problems whilst at work and here are some top tips for staying well at work:

Take your lunch break. Make the most of the sunny days and have a picnic or go for a walk!

Set clear boundaries between home and work. Give yourself time to unwind try listening to music or read a book, instead of taking work calls

Write a to-do list before you leave work so that your mind is clear and you have a good night sleep.

What’s Going on This Month

May is National Walking Month To find out more about how walking can improve your mental health wellbeing go to: walkingforhealth.org.uk/

13th – 19th May Mental Health Awareness WeekMental health awareness week, championed by the Mental Health Foundation, to find out more go to: mentalhealth.org.uk

31st MayWorld ‘No Tobacco’ DaySmoking is not only influenced by social factors but also by psychological causes. Find out smoking could be causing you more stress:mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/smoking-and-mental-health

Self-esteemDespite how the world is presented to us, confident and successful people are not the norm. Carefully curated social media posts, soundbites and sophisticated media training give the impression that most people don’t second guess themselves for a minute! However this veneer doesn’t show the thoughts and feelings that are inside all of us and can sometimes lower ourself-esteem.

Self-esteem affects how we:

Like and value ourselves as a person.

Make decisions and move past mistakes without unfairly blaming ourselves

Recognise our strengths and positives

Believe we deserve happiness

There are many causes of low self-esteem, some of which come from our home or work life but issues such as bullying, relationship problems and worries about our appearance can also affect us - it’s important to remember that you have the right to feel good about who you are and that you matter.

Wellbeing Solutions Management (WSM), is Medigold’s psychological services partner. WSM provides: Employee assistance programmes, critical incident support, mediation, and HR-led counselling referrals. wsm-wellbeing.co.uk

Mental Health Awareness

Medigold Health is a leading supplier of corporate wellness and occupational health solutions, offering a comprehensive services portfolio, keeping people in work, safe and well. medigold-health.com

Mental Health and Wellbeing ServicesMedigold Health delivers a comprehensive range of mental health and wellbeing services to support both individuals and their employers.

Our wellbeing services include:

24/7 Counselling & advice helplines (EAPs)

Managed counselling for return-to-work Critical

incident and post-trauma support Psychological

assessment and clinical reports Stress

management and resilience training

Medigold combines mental health services with a full package of occupational health, absence management and wellbeing solutions for employers. We keep people in work, safe and well.

Legal

Money

Health

Emotions

Relationships

Family

Work

Addictions

Older People

Walking More Will Improve Your Mental Health & Wellbeing Being active is usually seen as I have to as opposed to wanting to do it and looking forward to it. People feel like they have to exercise for their physical fitness but the real challenge is to realise when your mental health is being compromised because of lack of exercise in our busy lifestyles. Exercise doesn’t have to include 2 hours in the gym or preparing for a marathon; it can be as simple as going for walk and even more so if you register for a group walk as you will get the social benefits too.

Find your local ‘Walking for Health Scheme’ by going to walkingforhealth.org.uk/walkfinder

Self-esteem

Helps with stress

Releases happy hormones

Reduces anxiety

Sleep betterReduces risk of illness later in life

Benefits of

Walking

No tobacco is not just for ‘Stoptober’Smoking is closely linked with heart and lung problems but what we should also be talking about is how smoking is linked to Mental Health and how this can affect us and our family.

• Smoking does not help with Stress

• Research has shown smoking can increase anxiety and tension

• People with depression smoke more and find it more challenging to quit, making the relationship more complex than with any other Mental Health condition.

There is a common myth that smoking helps people relax and feel less anxious. The long term effects smoking has on the brain outweighs any of the perceived ‘positives’.