Mental health month

Body, Mind and Soul - the keys to mental health

“There is no health without mental health,” say Graeme Cowan.

Graeme is a respected author and speaker on resilience, a founding board member of R U OK? and champions the cause of better mental health, especially in the workplace.

In this Helping Hands panel discussion, he is joined by psychologist, Collett Smart, and CEO of Charitabl., Mike Gore, to discuss mental health in support of Mental Health Month, which runs from 1 – 31 October 2024.

In many ways, Graeme says, conversations about our mental health are easier today than ever before. The experiences we shared through COVID created a legacy of increased openness. Together, we found words to express and process the impacts we felt of isolation, loss of freedom and the mental health challenges we faced as a result.

However, the negative stigma attached to mental health and to talking about our mental health unfortunately still exist, particularly at work, Graeme adds. Some managers and business leaders still fail to be receptive when it comes to embracing effective mental health support for their employees. But, in Graeme’s opinion, it pays to focus on improving our mood or mental health.

“(When) we think about our mood, we think about being in the green zone. All the good things happen in the green zone. We’re more energetic, more motivated, more positive and we’re better people … Leaders sharing their story can make a really big difference … it’s these stories that normalise, because we all know people who have been through tough times … but when we’re going through it ourselves, we often think we’re the only ones experiencing it.”

Looking to the wisdom of indigenous cultures is exceptionally insightful when it comes to understanding a model of overall health, Collett says. She cites the Māori and Australian indigenous models of health, which both share four pillars of health based around physical, social, emotional and spiritual health; all of which contribute to overall health and therefore mental health.

“What I love about a lot of the indigenous models is they recognise the spiritual factor – and the spiritual factor for indigenous people is often connection to land, connection to country … something outside of ourselves, our faith, something bigger than ourselves … It’s so important to be looking at al those aspects of our lives for our mental health.”

Effective mental health support is always an “It takes two” deal, adds Mike. For any of us hoping to come alongside someone experiencing a mental health challenge, understanding their vulnerability and knowing how to respond is crucial.

“I think we need to do a greater body of work on, when people do speak up, how do you receive it? How do you reflect it and how do you support it? … There is a great misunderstanding of when someone is vulnerable enough to share with you, how do you help them?”

Graeme offers seven helpful tips to step through mental health support when someone is vulnerable enough to share that they are not OK:

• The most effective mental health support is based on asking questions, not being directive
• Be prepared to ask more than once because many of us fail to realise or admit we need help the first time we’re asked
• If you’re a helper, don’t fall into the trap of trying to problem solve too early
• If the person says they’re not ready to talk, ask if you can revisit the question later
• Try asking if there is someone else in their life with whom they would feel comfortable having a conversation if they are reluctant to speak about it with you
• It can help to talk about struggles you’ve had. By leading in this way, it can help someone to feel more comfortable talking about their own struggles
• Be prepared to offer support of a practical nature. For example, offer to help them make an appointment with their GP

If you, or someone you know is experiencing concerns about mental health, you can call LifeLine on 13 11 14.

See the MENTAL HEALTH MONTH discussion and the full catalogue of Helping Hands panels at helpinghands.tv. Catch up on full episodes of Helping Hands on 9NOW.

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* Our panellists, Graeme Cowan, Collett Smart and Mike Gore, and the Helping Hands producers are available for interview on radio, TV and online to discuss this topic. Get in touch at helpinghands.tv/contact/

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