Time to Talk Day 04 February 2021: The Power of Small
Launching the University’s webpages for Staff Mental Health Support
This week’s blog is an advance notice of an event for next week.
Time to Talk Day is the official day of the Time to Change movement. This movement works towards ending mental health discrimination and stigma. It is led by the charities MIND and Rethink Mental Illness.
This year, the focus of Time to Talk Day is ‘The Power of Small’. This means that initiating or responding any level of communication with someone about mental health can have a powerful beneficial effect. It doesn’t have to be speaking to someone in person or on the telephone. It could be a text or a WhatsApp just checking on how someone is doing. Even little contacts like that can create a very positive effect on how someone is feeling and can help them to feel better.
Another message coming out of the Time to Talk campaign is to ‘Ask Twice’. Usually, when you ask someone how they are, they automatically respond, ‘Fine’ or ‘OK’. The skill is to remember to ask that question twice; it makes the other person stop and think and, if they are low, they will think you really are interested and will genuinely respond to you.
The message of Time to Talk Day is even more important this year with so many people isolated or in small units, struggling with the restrictions of everyday life. For people with mental ill health, these circumstances can have an effect of eroding any sense of mental health wellbeing they are attempting to maintain.
Get involved with Time to Talk Day:
- Time to Change are holding a virtual festival 3-4 Feb, a day of online activities that anyone can join. Check the website for other things that you can do to help stay in contact with others and support your mental health
- On the 4th and 12th February, Talent and Organisational Development have organised sessions on Mental Health for Managers, which are bookable via staff connect
- On staff training Moodle, a new online module will released on the 4th February on Mental Health Awareness, which is open to all staff
The University has a team looking into implementing the Thriving at Work recommendations rising out of a review of mental health and employers. As part of this, next week, the working party is launching a University web resource which is a ‘One Stop Shop’ of Mental Health Resources signposting staff to what support is available to help them with their mental health and wellbeing. This will include information on the Staff Employee Assistance Programme.
Watch out for the communications coming out next week on this resource.