Supporting our mental health

It’s mental health awareness week this week. Running from 13-19 May, it is a time for campaigns around mental health to ensure it remains part of the conversation all across the year. 

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. And we can experience good mental health, poor mental health, or mental health conditions and mental illness. We know there is no substitute for adequate and prompt professional treatment for mental ill health, and that conversations around mental health can often overlook those with severe mental illness, with conditions still stigmatised. As mental health charity Mind are sharing with their campaign #NoMindLeftBehind, there is work to be done to ensure that everyone can get access to the support they need. 

As an inclusive company, creating an inclusive workplace and culture includes being supportive and understanding of people who experience mental health difficulties and illness. Feeling psychologically safe and supported at work is important to us, to ensure people can reach out for support, especially as a company acutely aware of marginalisation and discrimination.  

The way we support everyone we work with, and the ways we support ourselves, can be an important way to sustain positive mental health. So, we asked the Stopgap team to share some of the things that they do to support their mental health, both at work and in their lives.  

Identifying how we feel

For a lot of people, pinpointing how we feel or identifying what is causing a problem is a real challenge, especially for neurodivergent folks. A solution a few of us have suggested is journaling and getting it out on paper or your notes app, or finding someone to talk with to help untangle what may be going on. There is also this really handy interactive flow chart that walks you through steps to identify why you might be feeling off. Check it out here: An Interactive Self Care Guide.

Making work work for you

For many of us a large portion of our time is spent at work, around 90,000 hours over an average lifetime in fact! Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to not disadvantage Disabled employees and employees with physical or mental health conditions at work. But there are also things as workers we can do to ensure that we keep a good balance in our working lives. As a company continuously developing our inclusive culture, we’ve recently had a lot of conversations around learning about how we work best. Helping us to identify ways we can support one another and negate the development stress and potential burnout. 

These are some of our work-based tips: 

• Knowing when you work best. Charlotte, our general manager says “I know when and how I do my best focused work; from my home office between about 8am and midday. So, I save my most complex tasks or things that require me to be very focused for that window. Then I plan smaller tasks like catching up on my inbox, which don’t require as much focus, for the afternoons.”
• To-do lists, either physical or digital, can be a great way to reduce anxiety when tasks and projects feel like they are building up. The satisfying physical action of ticking off a task can help relieve stress through dopamine release. Try not to overfill a to-do list though, make it manageable!
• Working from home. Many of us are still working from home or in a hybrid of spaces, so it’s important to still create healthy working habits. Dancer and Future Leader’s Producer Annie-Rose gave us these great tips: ‘I like to change rooms when working from home instead of staying in the same room all day staring at the same four walls! I always like to start my mornings off peacefully, but find by the afternoon I need music to uplift the atmosphere in my working environment.’

Mental Health Support via Access To Work

Did you know that you can get 9 months of mental health support and a work coach at no cost, via Access to Work? Offered through two service providers AbleFutures and Maximus, you can access ‘advice and guidance from a mental health specialist who can help you learn coping mechanisms, build resilience, access therapy or work with your employer to make adjustments to help your mental health at work.’ There are a couple of eligibility criteria such as needing to be in employment (either permanent/temporary, or on sick leave) and have a mental health concern (diagnosed or undiagnosed) that is affecting your work. 

Access Artist Lily says “ I found the application process fairly straightforward, and as someone who’s experienced a whole range of therapy and support in their life, the monthly sessions I had with a work coach are some of the most useful hours of support I’ve ever had. They provided me with real tangible solutions to tackle some of the difficulties I was having with balancing work and life. Giving me the confidence to know my value in our organisation, and develop ambition for my career. I will always experience mental ill health, but I have mechanisms under my belt that I can use for the future to keep me in work.” 

Check out AbleFutures or Maximus.

Getting Outside

Lots of us mentioned the benefits of getting outside and going for a stroll. Whether alone or with friends, reconnecting with nature can offer the opportunity to slow down for a few minutes. In dance classes we do a lot of noticing and observing, taking this skill out of the studio is a great way to ground yourself in the present moment. 

'Emotional Grab Rails'

Access Artist Lily says, “I recently heard Jess Thom use the phrase ‘emotional grab rails’ on the Neurodivergent Moments podcast, talking about the words and ideas of other Disabled people she surrounds herself with when the ableist world is doing its thing. Knowing that you’ll find solidarity, comfort, shared pain, hope and love in their words. I loved this phrase. Jess and Touretteshero are one of my emotional grab rails, alongside other brilliant Disabled thinkers like Alice Wong, Scottee, Nina Tame, Stella Young, and my colleagues.”

Connecting with others

Creative learning associate Anna mentioned how supporting and attending neurodivergent friendly events and groups allow them to “develop a supportive network and boost confidence and mental health”. Connecting with others who share similar experiences with you is a brilliant way to be in community, and gives you a space to talk with people who understand. 

Self-Care

Self-care is a conscious act and the practice of looking after ourselves and taking care of our mental, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, recreational, and social needs. Sometimes self-care looks like taking a bath, sometimes it looks like asking your care-team to help tidy your space, sometimes self-care looks like deactivating from social media for a while. It’s all individual and what works for one person, might not work for someone else! But here are some of the ways our team practice self-care:

• Gaming and connecting online with long distance friends
• Getting outside 
• Get into water for a swim (Lucy says preferably warm water! Lily goes open water swimming and loves the cold for regulation!) 
• Reading 
• Taking a break from masking and stimming freely
• Eating a good meal 
• Listening to music 
• Colouring-in 
• Yoga 
• Listening to podcasts
• Getting enough sleep
• Journaling 

Distractions

Distractions can help bring focus to something else when you are experiencing anxiety, panic or distress.  Dancer and Access worker Abbie says “I enjoy learning new skills like aerial, I don’t have to be good at them or have an outcome to learning them”.

We hope that there are some useful suggestions for you in this blog, below we’ve also linked a lot of resources and services that can support you if you are struggling with your mental health. 

We’re keen to know what things you also do to support your mental health, let us know via our social media!