Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

In addition to organisational updates, we focus this month on mental health awareness week, which I feel strongly about making sure we support and have strong visibility for here at Sonderwell.

Here are some facts about mental health that you be interested to read:

• 1 in 6 people, or approximately 45.8 million adults, report experiencing symptoms of common mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, in any given week in England.
• Nearly half (43.4%) of adults (24.5 million in England) think they have had a diagnosable mental health condition at some point.
• 61% of adults with mental health conditions don’t access treatment.
• 98% of people agree that mentally ill people experience stigma and discrimination.
• Nearly 9 out of 10 people with mental health problems say that stigma and discrimination have a negative effect on their lives.

Poor mental health and well-being can be a real part of our lives. There are many reasons for this, many of which relate to how we live, the times we live in, and things happening in this country and beyond that are out of our control.

We can learn to recognise ourselves and our colleagues when support or help is needed. For example,

having experienced periods of anxiety, I have learned the importance of knowing when I need to talk to

someone about that or utilising some coping and support strategies I have learned to help me. But it can be easier said than done and take time.

We have an opportunity at Sonderwell to create a workplace where we positively respond to mental health and well-being and make it a safe place to speak up if we are struggling. We all must be committed to creating a culture and environment where this can happen.

Here at Sonderwell, we are committing to training more workplace mental health first aiders to support all of our colleagues if and when they need it.

Further, Karen Shakespeare, our Chief People Officer has further advice to give:

This Mental Health Awareness Week, I wanted to raise the issue of workplace loneliness. The pandemic has brought the issue into focus with the sudden increase in home working, but loneliness in the workplace is not a recent phenomenon and numbers continue to rise. Recent research has revealed that people are feeling more lonely and isolated than ever before.

Loneliness can result in health problems, reduced productivity, turnover and burnout. Lonely people often struggle to acknowledge their loneliness and many don’t recognise that they are lonely. According to the Harvard Business Review, it’s as damaging to our health as smoking a packet of cigarettes a day.

The good news is that there is a lot we can do to support colleagues and take care of our own mental health.

Healthy relationships at work are created when we have empathy and when we depend on each

Healthy relationships at work are created when we have empathy and when we depend on each

other. Loneliness can be prevented by creating strong interpersonal bonds between colleagues.

Here are 5 simple things we can all do to combat loneliness at work for ourselves and our colleagues:

1. Celebrate team achievements;
2. Take the time to be a good listener;
3. Make time for your work best friend if you have one;
4. Reach out to home workers; and
5. Share your thoughts and feelings with trusted colleagues.

As a team, we are here to listen and to help wherever we can.