Why have you chosen to be a Mental Health First Aider?
To help others feel supported and less alone. To pull on my own experiences and guide others toward the right help for them. I think when you suffer from similar issues, you have a better understanding of how people will want to be treated and find common ground to talk about. This is why I have decided to become a Mental Health First Aider.
I look forward to helping others in a way that I have been helped before. I often get told that I am easy to talk to and very understanding. In the past, I have helping employees through tough times such as bereavement due to suicide, miscarriages, self-harm, low self-esteem, and work-related anxiety / depression.
What do you feel are the benefits of having Mental Health First Aiders in our workplace?
As a long-term sufferer of anxiety and depression, I feel that we could all benefit from having someone to turn to when we need a little lift or someone to talk through problems with. We all have regular health checks, and your mental health is no different.
Sometimes it can feel like you’re the only one going through a low but in truth we all suffer with highs and lows in our day-to-day life, and I sometimes feel having someone to chat to about my mental health is helpful and insightful. This helps to reduce my anxiety and helps me to work through my issues and avoids absences from work due to being overwhelmed and feeling alone.
