On Thursday, it is Time to Talk Day. A day to have conversations about well-being and mental health, timely right? And undeniably at some point, most people will have struggled in this last year.
The pandemic, lockdowns, global recession, unable to see family and friends and ultimately bereavements and many other situations which have given people lots to feel down about. It is not all gloom and doom. There has been some light in the never-ending tunnel. People appear to be kinder to each other, there is noticeably a sense of community spirit and neighbours have got to know each other as we all spend more time at home. All of which is helping us all to cope in these strange times.
It is also good to see that the words ‘mental health’ has started to lose its stigma; and there is a definite culture shift in that mental well-being is viewed as nearly as important as physical health and wellbeing.
Looking back through my teenage years and up until my mid 30’s, I recognise that at times, my mental wellbeing suffered. But, I never spoke to anyone or sought help for a number of reasons. Mainly to do with what I thought people would think, the stigma of not being able to cope.
I am conscious of this fact and keep it in mind when life becomes challenging or trying, and I remember to use all the self-developed strategies. For me this means switching off from personal social media for a while, limiting the time I spend watching the news, and focusing on reasons to be grateful. For me this is that life’s basics are covered: a home, a family, health. And that overwhelming desire that good things are around the corner.
I would like to think that my friends, colleagues, and family feel that I am always there to listen should they be feeling life’s challenges. Certainly, through the mentoring work I do over the last year, there has been a shift in conversations about how business is being impacted and how that is making the business owner feel. Of course, we still talk about the business support and how they can move forward, but for some, this involves doing some work on their own confidence and digging deep around positivity about the future.
We have dedicated quite a chunk of our digital presence to raise the issues of emotional and physical wellbeing and how important this is in these challenging times. Our Wednesday Link Up at 11am has no agenda, no schedule, just a check in, for secluded business owners to know that they are not alone. We are all in this together exploring these challenging times.
Lastly but by no means least, if any of this resonates with you then I urge you to reach out to help those who may need it, and if you recognise this in yourself then reach out to someone and remember its ‘Time to Talk’ everyday!
