Interview with a Mental Health First Aider, Elizabeth
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and lockdown started, I had only been at work for a week following a hospital admission. I quickly ended up being set up for home working as my manager and I knew it was not safe for me to be on site; I received my letter to shield that very same week. As a Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) I knew the pandemic would hit our staff hard and I reached out to some of the team leaders and ward managers at the St Bartholomew’s Hospital (SBH) site and made my phone number and email available to them so that if they had staff struggling with the changes and situations created by Covid-19, I could help support and sign post staff to the Trust’s available services.
The MHFA network quickly set up an on-call rota with those available to ensure that our inbox was always monitored if anyone needed us.
I slowly but surely stated receiving calls and emails from staff, and in many instances, people just wanted someone to listen to their stories, pressures and fears which had resulted from the fast-changing situation that is Covid-19.
I was pleasantly surprised that a few weeks into the pandemic, one of the SBH psychologists called me to learn a bit more about the MHFA network and how we could help support our staff.
They told me all about the great work going on in setting up a wellbeing area that could be used by staff to wind down and relax. The wellbeing area was somewhere where we could make staff aware of the different resources being put in place to support them through this difficult period, and have a MHFA attend so that staff could have an empathetic listening ear if needed.
I feel really proud to work for an organization that wants to ensure the wellbeing of staff, but I also felt gutted that I couldn’t do more by being on site.
I have also felt guilty throughout this whole period that many of my colleagues and friends are at work risking their lives and I am home ‘safe’, even though I have tried my best to continue to work as much as possible.
Reconciling these thoughts along with the pressures of work, life, children etc, can take a toll on our mental health, especially at a time that is so uncertain, fast paced, and ever changing. The news and social media are forever giving us conflicting information that adds to these pressures as well.
For healthcare workers who work on the frontline or those who are connected to them, they get to see and experience the worse outcomes of this pandemic and I imagine that must be especially hard for both their physical and mental wellbeing.
On the week that marks World Suicide Prevention Day, I have learnt of a terrible statistic: every 90 minutes someone takes their life in the UK. Many of these could have been prevented if people had someone to go to and talk.
I want everyone in our trust to feel as though they can come to the network and talk about what is worrying them. This is so we can signpost them to the available help that is provided by the trust, and also other organizations that are available via the MHFA network.
I want everyone to know that its ok not to be ok, and want the stigma of mental illness and distress to be stamped out so that people can feel comfortable seeking help for a mental issues the same way they seek help for a physical one.
In the words of Brene Brown: “To the brave and broken-hearted who have taught us how to rise after we fall-your courage is contagious, we don’t have to it all alone, we were never meant to...”