World Mental Health Day 2020

It says on Mind.org that this year’s World Mental Health Day (10^th of October) is the most important one yet. They’re not wrong.

There have been so many challenges brought by the pandemic. Loss, lockdown, job fears, loneliness. Yes, there’s been banana bread and TikTok and the US Election but as far as our general happiness, 2020 can basically get in the sea.

Last year – before COVID-19 struck, Eugene Farrell, Mental Health Lead at AXA said more needed to be done to help people working in this sector: “The oil and gas industry may have failed to address mental health issues among staff in the past partially because it is a very male dominated industry, and men tend to find it more difficult to speak about their feelings and emotions.” A survey of the first two quarters of this year found that happiness levels in the maritime industry had dropped to the point the authors described it as a mental health crisis. 

Last year for this occasion I wrote about how not being able to manage your stress can be catastrophic. It’s something to consider now because – as much as it will be good in 83 days (we’re not the only ones counting are we?!) to ring out this year and bring in the next – we know COVID-19 isn’t going away. We can’t just write off the impact of the last few months; it’s going to take focused action.

It’s incredible to hear and see people talking about their mental health. In the recent Freddie Flintoff doc on his struggle with bulimia, he said the battle was an ‘isolating experience’ and speaking out made him feel less alone. “The more invisible things are, the less likely you are to share things.”

Self-styled “bipolar businessman and mental health advocate” David Westgate argues that legal professionals will be much more successful if they do not have to feel the need to hide their anxiety or depression. “I know what it’s like to be driven by anxieties so strong I sacrificed weekend after weekend to needless work. … People who turn up to work, day after day, while battling depression or severe anxiety or bipolar, are incredibly strong. “I often wonder just how much more successful we all could be, if people were not so scared that they felt the need to hide.”

That’s what the ask is from Mind – to get people to do one thing for better mental health. It says: “Making positive change can seem so hard, especially during uncertain times. And sometimes, it can be hard to know where to start.”

Talking about how you feel might be a million miles from where you are now. It might not always be that way. But it shouldn’t put you off from knowing there are other steps you can take. There’s a great book I’m reading at the minute called the Miracle Morning which looks at things you can do each morning to make you feel better about life. We’re not talking about anything major – getting up an hour earlier, not flicking on the phone and reading about the latest doom but getting up and meditating, walk the dog, hit the gym, make a good breakfast, read something fun.

There’s a great quote that I’ll leave you with, because it really underlines the importance of why we need to look after ourselves. “I can always make another dollar, but I cannot make another day.”