Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event that we have been getting behind at LiQuid for many years. It’s all about taking the time to focus on the all too important mental wellbeing that our busy lives can often cause us to neglect.
This year’s theme for the week is loneliness, a feeling many of us experience at some point in our lives. For some people though, loneliness can be far more than a passing feeling, it can be an insidious force that consumes us, and drives us deeper into depression, anxiety and any number of mental health woes.
The scariest part is that sometimes the feeling of isolation perpetuates itself, we can feel so desperately alone that we convince ourselves there is no way out, nobody to reach out to. That’s why at LiQuid we have tried to make sure our teams know that if they are suffering, they have somewhere to turn.
What Are The Goals For Mental Health Awareness Week 2022?
As you might imagine, one of the best ways to combat loneliness is by connecting people, and that forms the backbone of what this years campaign will focus on.
“We can give people the tools they need to live their best possible life. Let’s connect during Mental Health Awareness Week, and together, we can”:
- Raise awareness of the links between poor mental health and loneliness
- Provide safe and welcoming spaces to talk and support each other
- Upskill people to use technology and keep in touch with loved ones
- Create an army of volunteers to support lonely people
There has also been a recognition of the importance of businesses to build strong connections with staff as the corporate environment has moved increasingly online with the zoom boom!
“Our workplaces are also changing. With many adapting to home and hybrid working, we need to embrace this change while building and maintaining meaningful connections with our colleagues.”
Thankfully at LiQuid we’ve taken some steps to ensure our colleagues know they are valued and have access to support.
LiQuid Mental Health First Aiders
While we understand everybody must process complex challenges like mental health in their own way, and in a way that best suits their needs. Should any of our colleagues here at LiQuid HQ want to seek advice, chat or just have someone listen, our mental health first aid team are on-hand to support.
These volunteers have different jobs throughout our business, but they all have an open door to any who need help. Alongside their normal duties, our three first aiders have been specially trained to support people with a variety of issues, and have been given the tools and knowledge to ensure any who ask receive appropriate counsel!
We know that the long lockdowns at the behest of the COVID pandemic had a lot of fallout and left people picking up the pieces of their lives. While this can cause many mental health issues to manifest, the loneliness of quite literal isolation for some will have been too great. That’s what makes this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme so appropriate in our opinion.
Taking care of our teams is important to us, it’s right there in our CSR policy! That’s Corporate Social Responsibility – for those who may not know it’s our promise to our staff and customers that we will strive to be the most conscientious business we can be, and in this case it’s all about our Employee Wellbeing and Opportunity promise, one of the 5 E’s that make up the policy.
Don’t Go It Alone
If you have struggled with loneliness then you will be all to aware of the devastating effect it can have on your daily life and mental wellbeing. We encourage all our LiQuid community to let the people around them know that you care, and that we matter to each other. It’s not easy to spot loneliness, those suffering the worst can seem completely normal on the outside, when in reality they feel alone, no matter how many people surround them.
With this in mind, be kind to each other, and treat people with the respect you would like to be shown. In this way there is a greater chance that someone who is suffering under a powerful feeling of isolation may feel more able to reach out for support. Equally, if you know someone who has struggled through lockdown, check in on them when you can, it’s not always obvious how much an event has impacted a person.
To find out more about how to get involved, this week and beyond, check out the official Mental Health Awareness Week Website.
