Mental Health & Occupational Therapy – WMHD 2020

by Kate Jackson | Oct 7, 2020 | Uncategorized

World Mental Health Day 2020 is fast approaching and with this year being incredibly tough for so many people across the globe due to the impact of Covid-19, I feel it is more important than ever to raise awareness of mental health conditions.

Mental health conditions have now been recognised as a global health concern with latest statistics showing that 1 in 4 adults in the UK will experience a mental health illness. In recent years, we’ve seen a shift in the way we talk about mental health as the topic has been given more attention in the media, allowing more people to open up conversations about how they are really feeling. 

 A partnership between the charity Heads Together and the FA formed to launch the campaign “Heads Up”. Prince William is the main spokesperson and it is one of the most talked about mental health campaigns this year. Their campaign raises the issue of the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly for men and aims to encourage more people to feel comfortable talking about their mental health. Dele Alli, Frank Lampard and Harry Maguire are some of the many footballers that have been involved in the campaign, reminding us that mental health is just as important as physical health. 

 Other high-profile public figures such as Prince Harry, Freddie Flintoff and Fearne Cotton have recently shared their struggles with mental health in hope that it will encourage others to speak out and get help. 

Mental health conditions are now more widely accepted, and we appear to be moving in the right direction. However, there is still stigma attached to these conditions and with suicide being the single biggest killer of UK men under the age of 45, it would seem more still needs to be done. 

I believe that occupational therapy can play a huge role in the prevention and recovery from mental illness. Occupational therapy aims to improve health and wellbeing through facilitating engagement in occupations which include activities, roles and routines. Occupational therapists provide practical support to help individuals overcome barriers that prevent them from engaging in meaningful activities, enhancing independence, assisting recovery and promoting a positive mental wellbeing. We use a holistic approach to apply interventions which can involve implementing healthy routines, developing leisure interests, education on coping strategies and developing skills that are needed for independent living and self-care. 

I believe that practising self-care is something that we can all do to maintain a positive mental wellbeing and it shouldn’t be overlooked. Self-care is about prioritising time for taking care of your mental, physical and emotional health. Self-care can be anything you enjoy or find meaningful which can have a significant positive impact on your mood and mental wellbeing. I try to make time for self-care at least once a day, usually in the evening. Some of my favourite self-care activities that I like to do are running, reading and cleaning my environment, seeing family and friends and keeping to a regular sleeping routine. Self-care isn’t selfish and can keep us in tune with our minds and bodies.  

I hope we can learn more about mental health conditions, reduce the stigma and expand the services for individuals experiencing them. Getting involved in events like World Mental Health Day and speaking out about mental health conditions are a great way to do this. 

Visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day to find out how you can get involved this Saturday. 

Practicing what you preach

by Kate Jackson | Aug 13, 2020 | Uncategorized

I love my job and get huge satisfaction and reward from almost every aspect of it. There are challenges and disappointments, of course, and not everything goes to plan (the best laid plans and all that!) and being self-employed means that I have found myself having to learn lots of additional skills very quickly! In my undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy, I didn’t learn how to manage accounts, develop a website or market a business through social media. Of course I didn’t, they are very specific and highly skilled jobs (not really needed when I trained 20 years ago), so no wonder if find myself struggling at times with tasks that are way beyond my skills and experience.

Since starting my own business around 2 years ago, I know that I am generally happier in life, calmer at home and consider myself very lucky that I never get the ‘Sunday night blues’ at the thought of work on a Monday morning. What a great place to be in! And a big ‘phew’ as it was a risk to leave a wonderful, secure, rewarding job at LOROS Hospice and take a leap of faith into self-employment. 

Part of my reasoning for making that decision was about addressing my own mental health needs. I have had problems with anxiety and panic in the past (and sometimes now still) and have found really effective ways to look after my mental health and wellbeing, but I have wanted to start my own business for many years and finally found the courage to do so. I know that achieving my goals helps my mental health and it was one goal that I felt compelled to go for.

What I have learned, more than ever, is how important it is to practice what I preach. On a daily basis, I support people in workplaces, schools, businesses and in individual therapy to develop strategies to improve their own and others mental health. I passionately believe in the approaches I use and the value of occupational therapy, but this is strengthened by the fact that I promote these from both a professional and personal perspective. Given the intensity of my work, I know that there is potential that my mental health could be affected if I didn’t use effective self-care/resilience strategies.

Each week I purposefully take time to look at my diary, see what face to face work is booked in and work out where my rest, recovery and self-care activities are going to fit in with a pretty busy work schedule. I now see which tasks are way beyond me and do my best to outsource what I can to the experts in that field. I meditate daily and have a mindful attitude (most of the time!) to my work and home life. When I notice any of this slipping or I start to get feelings of overwhelm (which I do from time to time, I’m human), I know that I need to get back on track with self-care, etc.

Taking care of your mental health is not about having the odd day at a spa or running yourself a bath when you’re really stressed. It’s the small, frequent events that you do purposefully to take care of yourself before you reach overload. It’s saying no when you need to and finding the people who you can talk to about anything and everything! I am very lucky to have a lot of support personally and professionally and will never take that for granted. And so …. long may I stay self-employed as it is one of the greatest gifts I have given to myself.