BLUSH Winter 2019

BLUSH | HEALTH & FITNESS
Shush...
How we can talk about mental health.
It is often assumed, as well as
found in some studies that
women are more emotionally
expressive than men, but let’s
face it, it isn’t always easy
for anybody to open up a
conversation about mental
health. To begin with, where do we start?
What if we say the wrong thing? What if
the person we are talking to doesn’t want
our help? What if it is us that needs the
support? What if we burden them? Or
offend them?
There are so many questions that
overwhelm us, to the point when an
appropriate moment to approach someone
about our own mental wellbeing or their
mental health has gone... or worse still, we
may actually bombard someone else with
well-intended but unwelcome advice.
Research shows that humans tend not to
take advice from others; we either ask for
it as a way of reaffirming our own opinion,
or we don’t ask at all – because we don’t
want advice, or we are not ready for it, or
we are ashamed to tell others how we are
really feeling... Do you relate to any of these
scenarios?
It doesn’t matter how relevant or
well balanced the advice is, this type of
information mostly comes from a subjective
place based on the advisor’s experiences
or knowledge, rather than the best option
for the other person. With all the good
intention, experience and expertise in the
world, we can never completely know what
somebody else is going through, in the way
that they are personally going through it.
So how can we help
without giving advice?
Well, the first thing to remember is that
mental health is something we all need
to be on top of... just like we are on top
of our physical fitness.
It is good to talk, but it is even better
to LISTEN... and it is vital to approach
any situation appropriately, because one
of the biggest problems is recognising
the symptoms of mental ill health
and supporting a person to manage
their condition or to point them in
the direction of seeking the necessary
professional help.
As a Mental Health First Aider, you
are not a qualified therapist, just like
physical first aiders are not paramedics,
but by following the Action Plan that is
learnt during a Mental Health First Aid
course, you can really make a difference
to a lot of people.
It is a simple process to
become a Mental Health
First Aider:
1
2
3
Visit the Mental Health First Aid
courses, www.MHFAEngland.org
Choose the right course for you...
Attend the full course you apply for and
you will be a Mental Health First Aider.
You can do these courses as an individual,
or get work colleagues on board so that
your organisation can assign specific team
members to the role of Mental Health First
Aider, with the aim of having someone
allocated in each department. There are also
courses available for those working with
youths and with the armed forces.
Remember, mental ill health can affect
anybody, so the more awareness on the
subject, the better for everybody’s overall
health and wellbeing. Just like if you are a
physical first aider, you do not have to help,
but what these courses do is raise awareness,
reduce stigma, and shed light on your own
mental health status.
It is an ideal course to do if you are
supporting somebody going through
treatment, loss or trauma, as well as, if you
are too, experiencing life challenges.
98 BLUSH | WINTER 2019 sevenstarmedia.co.uk