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Is it just me or have you also found that lately, every time you switch on the TV, listen to the radio or read a magazine, some celebrity or retired sports star is discussing their mental health?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am in no way unsympathetic to the huge struggles that many celebrities and sport stars face with a life of unimaginable scrutiny, judgement, criticism, invasion of privacy to name just a few of their daily life struggles, BUT, (and yes I know it’s not politically correct to say it) what’s has it got to with me? After all their lives have no parallel to mine whatsoever, they live on an entirely different plane to me.
AND YET, Mental Health does impact every single one of us, be it our own mental health, a family member, a work colleague, a friend or an acquaintance; and when it inevitably strikes it can have devastating consequences particularly as many of us haven’t been given the tools to cope with it or don’t know how to help those we care for.
We all recognise that we have physical health, we all get a headache or a tummy ache sometimes but what many of us don’t recognise is that each and every one of us has mental health too. If you think about it, we will remember a time when we were unhappy or very sad or feeling down and all of us will have worried about someone close to us who is clearly suffering with Mental Health concerns.
For businesses mental health is a massive issue, the Centre for Mental Health states the financial cost to British business of mental ill-health is an estimated £26 billion per annum with 11.7 million working days lost.
A frightening report from Mates in Mind identifies that the suicide rate in the construction industry could be 10 times more than the rate for construction fatalities.
Businesses are now recognising the need to have people, tools, cultures, procedures, information and more to help their workforce’s mental health. But recognising is one thing, implementing is quite another; businesses are wrestling with who in their organisations should be responsible for mental health. Moreover, even if and when they have identified who is going to lead on Mental Health there is a recognition that there is a knowledge gap for those staff chosen to undertake this vital work.
Health and Safety and Human Resources Managers are increasingly asked to include Mental Health in their remit.
Kirsten Whitehouse, Conference Director, Mental Health in the Workforce Conference explains ‘talking to businesses and their health and safety teams over the last couple of years has highlighted to us that Mental Health in the Workplace is now a business critical issue. They told us that there is an urgent need for a focussed deep dive conference with content specifically aimed at health and safety and human resources managers who have been given responsibility for Mental Health in their workplace.
This need has increased massively over the past year.
So we have brought together leading experts and scientists to deliver a world class conference and workshops on strategies, culture, implementation, policies, law, responsibilities, business tools, information, physiologies and the latest science on Mental Health in the Work Place.
https://www.mhw-conference.com taking pace on 24th June 2021 at the Bankside Hilton, London, our conference mission is to arm delegates with must-have tools, information and strategies on this crucial subject.
So what have celebrity’s mental health issues got to do with me? Well, what it shows is that Mental Health is no arbitrator of status, wealth, age, sex or ethnicity. Celebrities who are brave enough to share their struggles help highlight this issue which may help others to talk about and seek help.
