Do you worry about your mental health or others?
It is ok for our mood to fluctuate during a day; be happy in one moment and sad or overwhelmed in the next. Knowing the warning signs of mental health will massively help before it becomes a problem. Do you know how to improve your staff mental health?Most mental health problems are common and most are mild. Usually they tend to be short term and can be treated by self help or professional help.
It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in a week experience a common mental health problem. With 17.4% of children aged 6-16 having a probable mental health disorder last year.
What are the causes of mental health?
Mental health is how we think, feel and behave. The most common mental health conditions are:
- Anxiety – over worrying, taking the world on your shoulders or feeling anxious in visiting places such as doctors or work.
- Stress – excessive pressure from work, personal life or simply over paying bills
- Depression – feeling sad and unhappy over a long period of time.
They are usually a reaction to a stressful life event, such as loosing a loved one, or work related issues. If we are not aware of our symptoms of poor mental health and promote better health, it can soon turn into a cake.
I hear you thinking… a cake? How is that relating to mental health? Bare with me.
Think of layers of a cake, we have a base layer where we have lost a loved one for example. The second layer where we have pressure from work for having too much time off work. Third layer appears as we have worries of no income. The forth layer grows when we become anxious – what if I can’t pay the bills? Usually a cake has four layers any more it becomes uneasy. The fifth layer turns up, the car has broken down, another cost to add to the list. Over time other layers appear – fallen out with friends, squabbles with family members or we know someone personally falling ill? If we don’t remove these layers, the cake will soon end up toppling over and crashing down. If a person comes crashing down this become a diagnosable mental health illness.
How can you recognise your cake building up?
The warning signs of mental health can be quite broad and different from one person to the next. Here are a few symptoms that can occur;
- headaches or dizziness
- muscle tension or pain
- stomach problems
- chest pain or a faster heartbeat
- difficulty concentrating
- struggling to make decisions
- feeling overwhelmed
- constantly worrying
- being forgetful
- being irritable and snappy
- sleeping too much or too little
- eating too much or too little
- avoiding certain places or people
- drinking or smoking more
These signs are only an overview, on our FAA Level 1 Mental Health First Aid (RQF you will learn more in depth about mental health and the signs and symptoms for many conditions. It is important to listen to your body, and recognise any aches or pains, headache, stomach pain, chest pain etc. When something unexpected happens, it’s critical to act quickly to help oneself. Read our blog; Five ways to manage your well-being to find ways to improve your well-being.
HMB Training – Mental Health First Aid Courses
Our mental health courses are ran by a team of trainers; Heather and Mathew where they include stories of others and their own experiences. Bringing real life scenarios to the classroom not only enhances learning but understand what people may go through in their day-to-day lives. HMB Training Services are passionate in saving lives and spreading the awareness of Mental Health within our mental health first aid courses. In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.
What is included in out Mental Health Courses
Our courses are structured into modules, discussions and videos. Our three levelled courses (level1 , level 2 and level 3) start with introduction into mental health first aid including the relevance into first aid elements. Understanding the impact of mental health problems from; day-to-day, physical health, work and education. You will understand the effects of stigma associated with mental illness and know how to cope. Knowing mental health on a continuum with being diagnosed and un-diagnosed. Understanding the risk factors, just like our cake analogy, and when early warning signs of mental health is becoming a problem. On our level one course you will understand how to start a difficult conversation. On our level two and three course you will have the opportunity to make these conversations through our role play activity. Know when and how to make a call especially if you believe the person is in a state of crisis.
All of our levelled courses include: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis, Eating Disorders, Self-harm and Suicide.
Level two course includes Drugs and Alcohol, Self-medicating, additional signposting, and first aid plan – role play activity, Mental Health in the Workplace and the Five Steps to Mental Well-Being.
Level three course includes all of level two as above and: Personality Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and more in depth in each condition on how to sign post and get further help.
Why become trained in Mental Health First Aid?
Attending a mental health course will help you to realise just how widespread the problem can be for individuals who are affected by poor mental health, as well as create a new perspective on all of the ways it can affect their lives. Knowing more about poor mental will not only reduce stigma but get people talking without judgement. Talking more reduces the signs and symptoms but reduces the chances of mental health becoming a diagnosable mental health illness.
We have courses online delivered via zoom, or in our classroom at Brownhills. If you have a group of staff need training to become Mental Health First Aiders we can come to your classroom on site.
To view our open courses please click here; Mental Health First Aid
Contact us
Call us on 01543 453338 or email at info@hmbtrainingservices.co.uk
