Not only is today (Thursday 4 February) Time To Talk Day – a day to encourage people to start a conversation about mental health without stigma or negative connotations - but we are also in the middle of Children's Mental Health Week.
“As necessary as national lockdown is at the moment, it is clear that we are all struggling in some way with the restrictions on our everyday living and the impact this is having on our personal and professional sense of wellbeing,” says Carla. “The usual symptoms and red flags of potential mental health illness with our children are compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, but also for parents trying to juggle working with home-schooling. I decided to take the course to inform myself more about mental health and also to gather some tools for both recognising when somebody might be struggling and understand about how I can help.”
She adds: “The course was delivered brilliantly by West Kent Mind, which is doing so much to support people in our area, particularly at the moment. Pre-Covid statistics suggest that one in four of us will experience a mental health issue in any given year and I can only imagine what this statistic looks like today. We all need to take care of our mental health and emotional well-being, just as we do our physical health. It’s Time to Talk Day 2021, encourage your children to talk today and to express themselves. In fact, we should all be encouraging each other to do likewise every day. Start a conversation.”
Carla is now hoping to sign-up for the MHFA in the workplace course to expand her knowledge in this area.
