How can we benefit from our mental health training?

 How can we benefit from our mental health training in the workplace? 

More than 46% of U.S adults suffer from some form of mental illness in their lifetime, and nearly 44 million people in the United States suffer from a mental health crisis each year. Of all people in the United States with a mental health disorder in a given year, only 41% receive assistance. Mental health in the workplace is a serious issue. However, many organizations do not offer mental health training to employees.

Why is mental health training for employees important?

Because mental health disorders are invisible, a person can appear healthy while hiding suffering. Training helps people identify mental disorders in others and in themselves, and we hope it will inspire more people to seek help.     

Mental health training programs aim to teach employees and managers about common mental health conditions and reduce the stigma surrounding them. People learn to detect warning signs of cyberbullying, trauma, PTSD, depression/anxiety and excessive stress in themselves and others.

While all employees can benefit from this training, it is often given to employees in care roles or those who interact with the public, such as:

• Teachers

• Health care workers

• First responders

• Librarians

• Social workers

What topics should mental health training cover for employees?

There are more than 200 mental health disorders, so it's impossible to cover them all. Focusing on some workplace-related topics and the people in them is an excellent start. Here are some examples:

• Corporate mental health training is the broadest category and focuses on preventing stress and burnout.

• Suicide intervention and prevention helps employees identify whether employees or other clients are in trouble and gives them the tools to help them.

• Addiction and substance abuse cost the United States more than $740 billion a year in crime-related costs and loss of labour productivity and health care. People with addiction need support and resources.

• Anxiety is growing in the United States and goes hand in hand with chronic stress and fatigue.

• Youth mental health includes issues of self-esteem, abuse, eating disorders, and other topics.

• First aid training for trauma or crisis is essential for first responders, teachers and health care providers who need to learn and learn how to deal with mental health problems during and after traumatic crises or situations, such as shooting at school or the workplace.

Mental health in the workplace

Training your employees to identify mental health problems is an important step in ensuring that everyone has the knowledge and assistance they need. But maintaining mental health is also important and is often ignored.

Who defines "self-care" as "the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent diseases, maintain health, and deal with disease and disability with or without the support of a health care provider."

9 Tips for Self-Care in the Workplace  

Developing into a place where we no longer treat self-care as well-being and instead treat it as a necessary part of the job is an essential step in caring for employees. Other than physical health, caring about relationships, emotions and reason is an investment that ensures that everyone on your team can contribute their best to your company.

Some people resist the idea of implementing self-care strategies in the workplace because there are misconceptions about what it might entail. While yoga classes and voice bath sessions can be useful for some people, there are simpler ways to achieve moments of calm in the workplace.

Here are some tips to help your employees so they can help you.

1. Encourage walking meetings

Instead of spending more time in the offices, take a meeting outside for a walk. Moving your body is a great way to refresh your mind. In addition, exercise is good for your physical health.

2. Listen to music

Listening to music works miracles for mental health. Elon Musk recently sent an email to all Tesla employees stating that he supports them in listening to music in his factories. He continued in writing that they are allowed to have to surround music agreed upon by everyone or a single earpiece for personal music, leaving one free ear to listen to safety issues.

If this isn't available in your workplace, make music part of scheduled little breaks

3. Schedule small breaks

It's tempting to convince yourself to continue working through a project even when you're mentally tired. Taking a short break to walk around the building or sit in your car and listen to your favourite song while eating your favourite snack can refresh your mental focus and actually help you finish the project faster than if you don't take a break.

4. Update your environment

Make your workspace a place you want. Use pictures, plants and children's art - anything that makes you smile. If your environment brings you happiness, you will be comfortable and productive there.

5. Solve the puzzle

Whether you're enjoying crossword puzzles, Sudoku or two quick tic-tac-toe games with a co-worker, pulling your mind out of work and joining an informal game helps you relax while practising your problem-solving skills.

6. Stay away from screens

Playing games on your phone may not actually help you during breaks. Maybe going out and watching nature for 10 minutes is really what your mind needs.

7. Encourage lunch break away from work areas

Everyone had lunch at the desk without looking away from work from time to time. It's tempting to try to finish work early, but without a short break for a meal and mental health recovery, the project may take longer to complete.

8. Stop criticizing yourself

We sometimes underestimate ourselves or criticize our work for fear that it is not good enough. But this is a bad habit because it can lead to negative feelings towards your whole business. Also, watch out and encourage co-workers who may similarly criticize themselves.

9. Celebrate accomplishments

Press the pause button and admit a good job - whether by you or by a co-worker.

Launching a Mental Health in the Workplace Training Program

Your organization can take a proactive approach to employee well-being by launching a mental health training program. You can start by surveying your employees about what mental health concerns affect most. Next, consider the stressor factors that are unique to your organization's industry to calculate the factors that affect employee well-being. These steps will help you understand what mental health training in the workplace needs to address.