Kat Linsley Hood and Jay Rachet share some of the shocking statistics around mental health in the UK, and give us a date for our diaries.
https://www.feel-amazing.org
Sunday 29th September 2019 - Solent Hall at the BIC.
KAT - Thank you
Before we talk about what we’re doing, I’d like to talk about where this all began
On Monday 7th January 2002, I was 20, half way through my degree and working in a Thresher’s off licence in Southbourne
It was cold, grey and the first Monday morning of the New Year
At shortly after 10am, 2 men came into the store, one jumped the counter and held me hostage whilst they robbed the shop.
It was the longest 5 minutes of my life.
They got away with £262 in change, one got caught and got convicted for his 100th conviction and sentenced to 7 years
I got a commendation for bravery and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
I have spent my entire working life balancing my mental health with my ambition.
Since then I have raised over £6.5m for charity and helped to change thousands of lives – I’ve also spent years getting help with my mental health
KAT
I know I’m not alone when it comes to mental health though
Here’s a few quick stats for you
KAT
1 in 4 of us in the UK will experience poor mental health this year – that’s about 23 of us in the room
For some that may be for a few days, a few weeks, months or maybe something they learn to manage for the rest of their life
In Dorset as a whole that amounts to over 190,000 people this year who will experience poor mental health
KAT
1 in 6 of the people we work with will experience work related stress, anxiety or depression each week, every week
That amounts to over 55,000 employees working in Dorset, in your organisations
Strange when you think that 8 out of 10 employers report no cases of employees disclosing a mental health problem.
But with 6 out of 10 organisations not having policies or systems in place to support an employee with a common mental health problem – is appears that stigma and taboo may still be firmly in place in a lot of organisations
How much information and support is available to employees within your organisations?
If you work alone, who is making sure you’re taking care of your mental health and what support have you put in place?
KAT
How does that impact on our businesses financially?
Poor mental health costs employers in Dorset over £500m a year, that’s half a billion pounds every year.
Poor mental health costs employers roughly £1250-£1560 per employee, per year through absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover
In some industries it can be as much as £2000 per employee per year, every year
Deloitte analysis suggests that sickness absence due to mental health reasons costs self employed people around £1 billion across the UK
Can you or your organisation afford to not pay more attention to what could be one of the biggest financial risks for your company?
KAT
So not being one to dwell too much on the negatives, I’ve always been ambitious and wanted to tackle the big challenges facing society head on
Following a really rough 2017 and 2018 with my own mental health, I had a thought, that may be there was more I could be doing to help others with their mental health.
Could I use my skills, knowledge and personal experience to create something which could make a real difference?
I’ve been lucky enough to know Jay for over 17 years, he’s a great friend and we’ve done a number of events together
So I asked if he had time for a cuppa as I’d got something to run past him
KAT
I hate problems, I’m a solutions kinda girl
I wanted to find ways where we could open the conversations up about mental health
Reduce the stigma and fear and make it more normal for us to talk about
And that is where Feel Amazing was born
The single ambition or focus was to help people to feel more amazing every day, normalising conversations about mental health and showcasing the incredible and diverse support that’s available to ensure those who want or need help are able to find help
If you’re struggling with your mental health – where do you go to get information? Most people only think of their GP, Mind or Samaritans
What if I were to tell you there are over 200 organisations in Dorset alone who support mental health – charities, NHS services, counsellors, therapists, life coaches, mentors – the options are endless
But where would you find the information?
KAT
This week, and you’re the first to find out about it, we’re launching the Mental Health Directory
A place for all mental health services in the UK to be able to share what they do, who they help, how they can help and how to contact them all in one place
I was surprised to find out there was no such thing, so we’ve created one
Listings can include photos, videos, details about the services offered, multiple addresses, reviews and much more
One simple solution which could help anyone and everyone in need of support a place to go to find out what’s close to them
JAY
Not content with that, we’re also hosting the first Feel Amazing Expo at the BIC on Sunday 29th September 2019
It’s an ambitious project
The event is in the Solent Hall and we have space for over 100 exhibitors – all focusing on ways we can help local people to feel more amazing every day
We have therapists, counsellors, authors, chiropractors, life coaches, yoga teachers, charities, addiction specialists, stress experts, financial advisors, nutrition and healthy eating, weight loss, image therapists and so much more – so no matter where you want to start your journey to feel a little but more amazing every day – there will be someone there fore you
Alongside this we have 15 speakers, delivering short, TED style talks on a whole range of different topics
It’s our aim to showcase all the incredible support that’s available on our doorstep
For you, or anyone you know who may be interested in joining us at the event stands start from just £50+vat and ticket price for entry at the moment is just £3 per person
JAY
So how can you help? What can you do now to make a difference?
Find and like us on Facebook
Share the event to those you work with and your friends and family.
You may not know who needs some help, but for every 4 you share it with, one of those may be in need of that support right now or at some point in the next 12 months
Spread the word, tag in people you know who work in or run organisations which help to support people and transform their mental health – this is a new project and we’re a not for profit social enterprise, so every bit of help is very much appreciated
Listen out for our podcasts which will be launching later this summer
And if you’re thinking there’s more you could be doing in your workplace, please grab one of us and we can share how else we can help you
KAT
There’s one last thing you can all do today and every day
If there’s someone you may have noticed that isn’t quite themselves. Maybe a bit quiet, a bit distant, a bit snappy – any way that’s different to ‘normal’ – trust your instinct and check in with them
Ask – how are you really?
Give them time to answer, and don’t give up if you think there may be something wrong. Keep checking in, tell them you’re there if they want to talk
We all have mental health. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes we just need someone to talk to, sometimes we need more.
We’ve both had friends who have committed suicide and wished we could have done more, asked that question, been a little braver
Likewise please don’t suffer in silence, the moment you start talking you’ll be surprised how many other people have experienced mental health issues at some point too and by talking you’re helping to reduce the stigma too
It’s ok to not be ok, it’s also ok to want to be ok and it’s definitely ok to want to be more than just ok