Mental Health Awareness Week

The theme is kindness and last week we held a Meet the Speakers Confidence and Kindness Webinar.

The speakers all touched on how lack of confidence affects mental health, wellness, and wellbeing.

A recording of the webinar is available here.

In prepping for it I mulled over my own mental health over the last few months.  Since lockdown it surely goes without saying that virtually everyone’s confidence has taken a battering to some degree.  And the worries have ranged from the vain, of which I am partially guilty, to some serious concerns which have also affected me too.

I lost my mum in Nov 2020 and have not been able to hug my dear Dad for over two months now, nor my brother who is looking after him.  Seeing Dad through the glass window is heart-breaking but there is no other way currently. I put on a tough confident exterior, so he doesn’t see my pain, but deep down I think he knows. After all it is only six months since we lost mum so he is grieving for his wife of 60 years.  And there are literally thousands of other people in the same boat of me. And their are way too many whose boats are in even worst states too.

How are people coping

However, if tough old me is feeling the way I do from time to time during this surreal and tragic time, how on earth are others coping.  I have friends who suffer from deep depression and others from serious anxiety.  I personally had never had a panic attack nor suffered from anxiety until I lost my mum.  It is not as bad as it was, but I know Coronavirus certainly has contributed to mine hanging around. That said I am not prone to depression and for that I am thankful.

As we know Mental Health issues range from the tiny to the massively crippling.  And it got me thinking about what is affecting people right now.  It does seem that some folk who have not had mental health issues before seem to think they are suffering now.  And we are reading a lot about those whose diagnosed mental health issues have, by all accounts,  spiraled out of control.

I do know there is a fine line between what can be considered being on a downer to becoming depressed.  My question is where is that fine line and when do we know whether we have stepped over it.

Personally, I put those concerned with temporary vanity issues particularly for anyone with dyed hair, false nails (me on both counts) to botox, eyelashes and more (not me) in the superficial category.  But maybe I’m wrong.  Some people might lose huge amounts of confidence which in turn causes them to suffer from mental health issues.

One thing for sure is losing your job, worrying about lone family members or relatives in hospital, concerns about your own health, watching your relationship with your partner deteriorate or worse, and losing someone are much more likely to cause a mental health issue. Particularly when combined with the situation thrown up by COVID 19

Things I’ve heard

I have spoken with friends and associates who have said to me during our lengthy virtual conversations:

“why am I furloughed when others haven’t been”

I’m too scared to go out’

‘I’m lonely’

“will I lose my job and if so will I find another job”

“How will I cope”

“will I cope if normal life changes forever”

“When will hug my mum or my dad, my brother or my best friend”

“Will my business survive”

“How will I pay my bills”

And tragically,

“I never got to say goodbye”

The list is endless and ranges from the smallest worry to the very largest and most tragic concerns.

Mental Health Speakers

We have several fine speakers who share their expertise and knowledge of mental health and you can see them here.  They include Kerry Daynes, Ferne Cotton, Sonia Beldom, Catrin Pugh, Katie Piper, Ben McBean, Alastair Campbell, Clarke Carlisle and Simon Weston.

Please contact us at anytime to inquire about a speaker or host for any of your forthcoming events be they in person or virtually.

Email sylvia@thespeakersagency.com or call +44 (0) 1332 810481