Hello PPMA members and friends

Mental Health Awareness is high on everyone’s agenda and everyday this week we’ll be posting an activity we’d like you to undertake in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme of NATURE.

This year more than ever has shown that if we are to be able to realise good mental health and emotional wellbeing we need to have a connection with nature. It plays such a significant role in our psychological and emotional health. In this wonderful vlog, Kate Enver from Southwark Council shares her gratitude for nature and its power and benefit.

Today’s activity is that we’d like invite you to pause for a few moments, and take a look around you today and pay attention to the details of the nature around you: the colours of the plants, the leaves on trees, petals of flowers, the animals you see, as you look up to the sky above. Check out the different way people smile, the colour of their eyes. Step out into the fresh air and notice the smell of the breeze….What beauty can you find in the small things you have noticed and share your gratitude in nature with others?…we would love to hear what you discover.

• Share nature: Take a photo, video or sound recording and share the connections you’ve made during the week, to inspire others. Join the discussion via our social channels, on how you’re connecting with nature by using the hashtags #ConnectWithNature #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

We look forward to seeing your images.

Hello PPMA Members and friends

At the beginning of this year I talked about the how proud I was of our profession and how well we have supported and helped our organisations over the last year and how we need to continue our focus on supporting our workforces in the right way, addressing any bias or discrimination, and looking after their wellbeing.

I said that we could come through the Coronavirus Pandemic and WIN – with a focus on Wellbeing, Innovation and New thinking, ideas, technology.

I want to briefly remind you to encourage your organisations to enter our PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2021 to celebrate and share the fantastic work that you have been doing. There are many categories to choose from including recruitment, transformation, development, diversity & inclusion, partnership working and wellbeing. The awards close next Monday 17 May.

Also, this week is Mental Health Awareness Week. It is all about starting conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it.  Over the last year Leatham Green, our Executive Director, has been doing great things to continue the focus on wellbeing with regular videos and social media meetings promoting mental wellbeing actions and interventions. I know that you have also been doing great work over the last year in highlighting the importance of wellbeing in your organisations.

This year the focus of Mental Health Awareness Week is on Nature. Nature is something that is all around us. It can be really helpful in supporting good mental health.  Nature can mean any environment in which we can use our senses to experience the natural world. This could include the countryside, a park or garden, coast, lakes and rivers, wilderness, plants or wildlife closer to home. It also includes trees on an urban street, private gardens, verges and even indoor plants or window boxes. Surprisingly, even watching nature documentaries has been shown to be good for our mental health. This is great news as it means the mental health benefits of nature can be made available to nearly every one of us, no matter where we live.

During lockdown, nature has played a vital part in supporting mental health. According to the Mental Health Foundation, last summer half of people in the UK said that being in nature was a favoured way to cope with the stress of the pandemic.

So apart from encouraging you to get your organisations to enter our PPMA Awards 2021, I would also encourage you to promote Mental Health Awareness week, check out the information and resources available from the Mental Health Foundation and the focus on Nature this year.

Best wishes

Steve Davies, PPMA President

Hello PPMA Friends

Wednesday 6th November is National Stress Awareness Day and Keeley Metcalfe who is Senior HR Adviser, Resourcing Solutions at North Yorkshire County Council and also PPMA Rising Star runner up 2018, has written a very insightful piece reminding us of the importance of taking a break.

“How often are you asked; ‘Are you busy?’ And how frequently do you say ‘No’?

More often than not we answer yes and that’s because we are just that; busy. The pace of modern day life and all the things we have to do means we do have busy lives, however even if you were having a quieter day would you ever say ‘No, I am not very busy today’?  There seems to be a negative association with saying you’re not busy, especially in a work environment where people possibly fear that they are not doing their job well enough if they are not ‘busy’.

There’s lots of publicity relating to well-being at work and an emphasis on taking time out to relax and unwind, giving your body and mind chance to take a break, in turn reducing stress and aiding productivity. Some people use exercise as an effective stress buster and socialising is equally effective for most, but it’s not very often that people tell you that they have spent some time doing nothing, where they have sat down, stopped what they’ve been doing and taken chance to take a break from technology including phones.

National Stress Awareness Day (6^th November) aims to raise awareness of stress and its impact, while promoting the importance of well-being and stress reduction for individuals and organisations.

Meditation, or the modern term ‘mindfulness’ can be really valuable to help the body and mind to rest, effectively combating stress. Formal relaxation practices don’t suit everyone so instead just taking some time to sit down and stop what you’re doing can be the first step towards helping mind and body to relax. Learning to do this can be very difficult but many people who do so discover that they really enjoy these moments of time and benefits brought from a health perspective.

Everyone’s different but if you are finding that you’re constantly racing about and feel that you need a little bit of time to yourself, try just taking a few minutes of time without your phone to sit and do nothing. You may continue to be busy, but on occasions this may include treating yourself to some time being busy doing nothing!”

Keeley Metcalfe

Hello PPMA Friends

Our blog post this week has been written by Paul Friday who is Director of Strategic Relationships for good our friends and sponsors MHR. Paul penned this thought proving piece to coincide with Men’s Health Week in June and we’re so pleased to be sharing it with you all.

“This year, The Men’s Health Forum are dedicating Men’s Health Week to the mental health aspects of men’s health, which got me thinking about the real lack of discussion I see on men’s health in general.

While fantastic projects like those by the Men’s Health Forum raise awareness around mental health problems specific to men, there has been a real cultural lack of discussion about men’s health, with language around men who are struggling to cope often very negative. If men begin to drink too much, become despondent, quiet or moody, or argue more, the correct response is to ask if they are OK. More likely though, men will be described as moody, aggressive, angry, out of control, a mess, a loser – this language is only going to make the men it refers to feel even worse about themselves and less likely to open up.

MHR have a free guide to better men’s health.

What are the cultural perceptions?

There is another issue in that we celebrate negative aspects of masculinity rather than intervening. Open any men’s magazine or watch any film aimed at men, and these traits are apparent. A real man, we are informed, is one who is a hard-drinking, fighting cowboy who stays silent about what bothers him, only expressing himself by shooting his rival. He is the James Bond type, working long hours before drinking (again), gambling and never finding a meaningful relationship. He’s the soldier on the battlefield struggling to hold it all together, he’s the absent father, entirely to blame for a broken relationship, the boxer with nothing left and he has to do all this while being charming, in great shape and without support.

This image needs to change. Because men, well, they’re people too; not just action heroes.

Realistically, we all go through stressful periods in life, whether that’s the result of work stress, family life, financial pressure, health concerns or something else. However, very few men are open to discussing these subjects honestly and in detail, except perhaps after a few beers – products marketed predominantly at men, but which can lead to violent outbursts, something seen as a masculine trait.

The idea of men as inherently aggressive or violent is likely to cause low self-esteem in men, who feel saying or doing the wrong thing may lead to unwarranted stigma. When anxious about saying the wrong thing, men who actually are having struggles with anger issues are less likely to open up when they need help the most. The image of men needs to change so that they can express what they are going through safely.

Where does this lead?

The sad irony is that men, perhaps as they can’t discuss anger openly, commit 86% of violent crime and are twice as likely to be a victim of violent crime[1]. Outbursts of this kind are a possible indicator of mental health issues boiling over, something which does not receive the attention it deserves.

As socially unacceptable as anger is, in the society of ‘a stiff upper-lip’, anger is still seen by men as a more socially acceptable response than crying or talking, as these are seen as feminine traits and therefore even less socially acceptable than anger. This is of deep concern.

Aggression and anger (luckily) do not always manifest themselves as violence. Clenched fists, pacing, and swearing are all pressure valves for letting repressed emotions of fear, sadness and disappointment hiss out in a less unacceptable manner.

While these actions may go no further, they could be a strong indicator of an imminent explosion, or unexplained implosion – in too many cases suicide is a high risk.

In 2016 men represented 76% of all suicides[2] which is a shockingly high number, especially when considering that 87% of rough sleepers are men[3]. It seems that those who fall under the radar and do not take their own lives may be in danger of losing their lives in other ways.

Men are suppressing their emotions

Proof that men struggle to speak about their problems is even evident through word choices. A study by NSPA showed that men expressing their emotions found descriptions like feeling ‘angry’, ‘a bit weird’ and ‘emotional’ as inaccurate or having the wrong connotations[4]. The terms the men who were surveyed preferred to use to describe themselves were:

– Not 100%
– Down
– Worried
– Vulnerable
– Lonely
– (Under) Pressure

These terms are less specific and slightly non-committal, so the perception may be that men using these terms are likely to subtly suggest they need support, rather than screaming out that things are close to breaking point – a point at which a lot of damage may have already been done.

Again, the inability to convey mental health issues effectively may be a factor in suicide, with 6,122 UK men taking their lives in 2014 for example. Tragically, one man every two hours[5] will needlessly disappear from the world, which needs to stop.

The other ingredient for poor communication over men’s mental health is the unwillingness to speak up when things are bad.

A 2016 study for the Men’s Health Forum explained that ‘34% of men said they would be embarrassed or ashamed to take time off work for mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression compared to 13% for a physical injury’[6].

This statistic is very telling and indicates that mental health is viewed differently than physical health, and men are aware of a stigma which may or may not exist within their place of work.

Jim Pollard from the Men’s Health Forum points out ‘the language we use needs to put the individual in control.’[7] This is because macho norms can mean men will not speak up if they fear judgement.

Men also react poorly to being told what to do for the same reason. As a result, messages like ‘don’t do that!’ over smoking, drinking, diet or wellbeing have had limited effectiveness with men[8], so there is no reason to think this approach would work differently for mental health issues.

Further proof of this is that ‘men are three times as likely to report frequent drug use and nearly three times more likely to become alcohol dependant than women.[9] These are often solitary acts and at the extreme end of these abuses are the drug and alcohol dependent rough sleepers we’ve all encountered. These who are usually men – perhaps men who couldn’t ask for help before things got too bad.

Why men hide their feelings

Time to Change have previously taken to Twitter to get comments from the public about mental health issues which men experience. Many of the issues we have looked at so far were reiterated here in a much larger, if more general method of research.

When asked what might make opening up about mental illness difficult for men, people said:

‘’People often don’t think depression is a real illness. That goes for both genders though.’’

Which backs up the statistics around men not reporting mental illness as often as physical problems.

‘’Being judged by other men. All about ego and stigma. End of the day, illness can strike anyone.’’

Echoing the idea of a macho culture and showing men feel judged, even though ‘’illness can strike anyone’’.

‘’Lots of people are frightened by mental illness. Perhaps some men don’t want to be seen as scary monsters.’’[10]

This is an interesting point, as it shows a stigma which the research has not truly discussed, which is male aggression, often the way men express their loss of control.

Men’s mental health and how to spot problems

We’ve seen men are at high-risk for mental health issues, substance abuse and suicide, and yet are much less likely to ask for help.

If you think you may be struggling with your mental health or there’s a man out there who you think needs assistance, look out for these warning signs, as advised by the National Institute of Mental Health[11]:

– Anger, irritability or aggressiveness.
– Noticeable changes in mood, energy level, or appetite.
– Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much.
– Difficulty concentrating, feeling restless, or on edge.
– Increased worry or feeling stressed.
– A need for alcohol or drugs.
– Sadness or hopelessness.
– Suicidal thoughts.
– Feeling flat or having trouble feeling positive emotions.
– Engaging in high-risk activities.
– Ongoing headaches, digestive issues, or pain.
– Obsessive thinking or compulsive behaviour.
– Thoughts or behaviours that interfere with work, family, or social life.
– Unusual thinking or behaviours that concern other people.

If these characteristics seem familiar, it’s crucial that you or the men you care about speak to the right people. There is a list of resources at the bottom of the page and a downloadable guide with some further advice on self-care.

What to do now

Going through mental health problems is hard for everyone. For men it can feel like talking is not an option and that it’s better to bottle everything up and look after our friends and families first, but we need to look after ourselves as well. Opening up and talking or admitting we can’t cope doesn’t feel like ‘the manly thing to do’, but that needs to change if we want to avoid self-destructive behaviours in men. As men, if we don’t learn to accept and address our mental health struggles, then we stand to lose everything.

Falling behind at work and losing our jobs. Losing our homes and possessions as a result, losing our partners, losing our tempers…if we don’t lose the inability to have a conversation, we stand to lose everything that matters.

Too many men are suffering in silence, with too many disappearing for good because they couldn’t ask for help. As men, I feel we are strong enough to accept we are sometimes weak, and we can beat our problems through talking to others and being there for friends when they struggle too.

Don’t give up, because if you are still surviving against the odds, then getting help means you will become unstoppable. You’ll become happy too, that’s what really counts. Here are some good resources to get started or for you or any men you know:

NHS: This useful site gives practical advice on dealing with mental health difficulties, including an overview, how to get advice and how to treat your problems, as well as some insightful stories from people who have struggled themselves. – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/

Mind #1: This page encourages more men to speak up about mental health, with really good, in-depth advice. – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/man-up-getting-more-men-in-mental-health/#.XNLn6o5KiUk

Mind #2: Contact details and a breakdown of the Mind ‘Infolines’. Mind are one of the best organisations for mental health assistance and their helpline is good place to go if things are too much. – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

Movember: Known more for charity fundraising than articles, the charity actually offer some of the most relevant articles, as they are one of the few mental health organisations focussing purely on men. This site helps men to learn the benefits of talking more, offers a lot of stories from other men and includes podcasts and practical resources for free – https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/mental-health

Paul Friday, Director of Strategic Relationships, MHR

References:

[1] http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mens-Health-Forum-Mind-Your-Language.pdf

[2] http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mens-Health-Forum-Mind-Your-Language.pdf

[3] http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mens-Health-Forum-Mind-Your-Language.pdf

[4] http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mens-Health-Forum-Mind-Your-Language.pdf

[5] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/lets-hear-realistic-discussion-male-mental-health

[6] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/lets-hear-realistic-discussion-male-mental-health

[7] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/lets-hear-realistic-discussion-male-mental-health

[8] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/lets-hear-realistic-discussion-male-mental-health

[9] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/lets-hear-realistic-discussion-male-mental-health

[10] https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/blog/why-dont-men-talk-about-mental-health-problems

[11] https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/men-and-mental-health/index.shtml

Dear PPMA friends

This week we are sharing an important story about mental health from a friend of PPMA’s. Nicky Ingham is the Executive Director for HPMA, one of our MOU Partners and she is sharing her own very profound and personal experiences of mental health challenges. Below, Nicky introduces her story and then there is a link to a podcast she participated in. Please do make time to listen to it.

Mental health is an issue that affects many of us and it is one of our Let’s Talk: Wellbeing priorities this year. Our new pages will be up shortly and you can read more about the issue and participate in conversations about it too.

In the meantime, here’s Nicky’s story…

“I am pleased to share my journey of discovery as I like to refer to it, I am not alone in going through what I went through, however, by sharing my story I hope I can offer comfort and support to others.

By way of background, I have always worked in public service, predominantly within healthcare, and undertook over 24 years in a variety of HR and OD roles, culminating in being a Director of Workforce and OD in 3 different organisations. I would describe myself as positive and resilient, with a real passion for people and wanting to make the world a better place for us all to live and work in.

A few years ago, I found myself in a state of despair with both home and work being challenging, you can usually deal with one of these at a time, however when they both throw you challenges; it can feel impossible to deal with. My family is very important to me and when one of them is suffering, you feel it too. My brother was experiencing a difficult break up with his 3 beautiful daughters at the centre, it wasn’t easy to say the least, however I was there for him and for my mum and dad, I was always the one who rescues the situation and put my needs to the back of my mind.

A feeling of isolation and loneliness at work, generated all sorts of perceptions in my mind about who I was, what I was doing, and whether I was achieving. I felt my voice wasn’t heard by others which just added to the isolation if felt, which resulted in a downward spiral of my mental health. When I talk about it now, I can appreciate what a dark place I was in, however at the time I felt alone, and didn’t want to talk to anyone about it, or did I feel no one was interested so put the barriers around me, even higher.

I met Ian Pettigrew, Kingfisher Coaching, when we shared a stage at the 2018 CIPD conference – I shared a snippet of my story with a diverse audience of HR professionals, Ian felt it would make a great podcast that would help others. I totally agreed and find sharing my story is part of my ongoing recovery, if I can support just one person through the power of sharing, then it is totally worthwhile. There is still too much stigma attached to mental health, it is time for us to be open and let people know it can happen to anyone at any time, we are all vulnerable and #ItsOkNotToBeOk

You can listen to the podcast which shares the whole story of how I got to the lowest point, survived and turned things around through several mediums, all with the support of my husband and close friends”.

Nicky Ingham

@nickyinghamICTP