Today is Mental Health Day. I often get a little disillusioned with all of the different days that we have but this is a day that especially after the last two years that we have all had, I take really seriously and means a lot.

For me, mental health used to be a ‘dirty’ word. A word used to describe someone who was weak, or who ‘couldn’t handle the pace’ of the work that we were doing. But that was before I was a Manager, before I really knew what the term contained and perhaps more importantly, before I experienced it myself.

I’ve been quite public in acknowledging my own struggles and my burnout that I had a few years ago and as such, it makes me incredibly protective of my team members, clients and colleagues who I see struggling. One of the big reasons that I wanted to become a coach was so that I could help others in their own journey of becoming a better professional but also to look at the improvements that they can have in their own life.

During the pandemic and even now, I’m seeing a lot of the people I coach struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic and what this means on their professional and personal life. This could be how they’re handling the pandemic, how they are managing returning to work and more importantly managing the stress that has come about from the changing circumstances and events.

At Siemens and within our division (Digital Industries #TeamDI), there is a real focus on #movingforme for this year’s mental health day and the benefits that Exercise can bring to your mental health. I’m a regular runner so decided to use my run today to not only give myself a bit of ‘me time’ as well as to ‘practice what i preach’ when I tell people the benefits of exercising and running!

If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a professional who can help you. They can also help you approach your employer or work with them to ensure that you are supported in your mental health journey.

I can highly recommend Barry’s course on How to recognise, prevent and manage burnout. I can also offer free codes to view this and all of the other Pluralsight courses. Please feel free to DM me if you’d like one.

What are you doing for your mental health today?