Month: March 2025

The theme for World Mental Health Day on Thursday, 10 October, 2024 was prioritising mental health in the workplace. There has never been a better time to prioritise mental health in the workplace!

Marissa Desoysa, People Change Lead at the Department of Work and Pensions, on her thoughts on this year’s theme.

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In our fast-paced world, more employees are experiencing chronic stress than ever before potentially leading to burnout. Burnout doesn’t happen overnight – it’s gradual and can take hold before you’re truly aware of it. We must therefore unite in educating ourselves and one another to recognise the signs of poor mental health and provide mutual support so that we can create healthier, more resilient workplaces where mental wellbeing is a priority for everyone.

In considering the wider theme of burnout, I began to think about self-care and self-compassion.

Working hand in hand

While self-care – taking time for ourselves to recharge – is vital, I’ve come to realise it’s just the beginning of what we need for true wellbeing.  Self-care practices like cosy evenings or quiet moments for yourself can certainly help reduce stress, but lasting resilience requires self-compassion. Being kind and understanding towards ourselves, especially in tough moments, builds a foundation for growth. Self-compassion allows us to navigate setbacks without harsh criticism, offering ourselves the same empathy as we would give a friend or work colleague.

This has made me reflect on what is the difference between these two core principles and why we need both in our lives.

Self-care: This, for me, is all about the day-to-day activities we undertake to look after ourselves. Practical things that you can do for yourself to support your own mental wellbeing. Some of mine are spa days, eating chocolate, going for a walk or practicing yoga. But it also can be choosing those ‘harder things’ like making the appointment to see your GP, having those difficult conversations, and learning to say no to people who demand your attention and time constantly. It could also be just as simple as switching off your phone and acknowledging that you need some time out to recharge.

While I do practice self-care on a regular basis, I am not always as good at self-compassion and can be my worst own critic. Often blaming myself for things and not giving myself credit for things I do. This has led to a lack of self-belief and at times has held me back from promotion and other opportunities. I have learned the hard way that we need to practice both.

Self-compassion: This is the way you talk to yourself, your mindset, and the inner dialogue. It’s about turning compassion inwards. It’s about being kind to ourselves rather than critical when we fail or make mistakes. We need to give ourselves support and encouragement rather than being cold or judgemental when challenges and difficulties arise.

It’s not just about taking bubble baths and lighting candles although these things can really help at times. It is about the thoughts and comments that run through our mind, that inner voice telling us we are no good or we are at fault. We often are harder on ourselves than we would be to our friends – ask yourself would I say this to my best friend if they were going through a similar thing in life?

Going deeper

Giving ourselves a hard time doesn’t make us feel any better. Most people find it much harder to treat themselves with compassion.  We tend not to be taught how to be self-compassionate and yet I believe it is vital to our wellbeing and will help us make mental health a priority in the workplace.

Pay attention to those inner voices and be aware of them and supporting colleagues to do the same will make a huge impact in our workplaces. Once we begin to recognise these voices you can find ways of dealing with them and addressing them.

Dr Kristen Neff’s (University of Texas) research on self-compassion involves three core elements: mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity. Dr Neff believes that by practicing mindfulness, being kind to ourselves, and general humanity we have a higher chance of achieving happiness and self-compassion in our lives.

I believe that to help prioritise mental health in the workplace we need to encourage both self-care and self-compassion. By practicing self-care and self-compassion, we will see the difference it makes in our own lives, leading to increased feelings of happiness, optimism, curiosity, and connectedness as well as decreasing anxiety, depression, and fear of failure. All great aspects of a thriving workplace.

So, let’s embrace self-care, but also go deeper, inviting self-compassion to help us truly flourish.

With thanks to Marissa Desoysa, People Change Lead at the Department of Work and Pensions,

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Self-care and self-compassion are core tenets of Mental Health First Aid courses, as we believe that no one can ‘pour from an empty cup’.

Have you ever thought that compassion sounds a bit weak and fluffy?  A bit impractical, idealistic or something that you give to other people.

In this blog post, you will explore the meaning of compassion and, in particular, how practising it can benefit you. After all, you spend more time with yourself than with anyone else in life. Indeed, when you tally up all the time spent with others, it won’t even come close to the amount of time you spend in a relationship with yourself.

But what type of relationship do you have with yourself? We’re often told how to be kind, caring, and supportive with other people, but when do we get taught how to be in a healthy, caring relationship with ourselves? That’s what self-compassion is all about.

So, what is compassion? While it is easy to misunderstand compassion as something fluffy, indulgent, or weak, Nelson Mandela described how our human compassion binds us not in pity or patronising ways but as human beings who’ve learned how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.

Compassion is one of the wisest and most courageous motivations we can have. Professor Paul Gilbert describes compassion as “a sensitivity to the suffering of self and others with a commitment to try and relieve and prevent it.” So, compassion isn’t just about being sensitive and soft; it’s also about taking action to reduce distress.

Compassion often involves strength and courage. It’s compassion that leads firefighters, nurses, and doctors to dedicate themselves to helping others. To be compassionate, we need two skills.

Firstly, the ability to confront and endure difficult situations rather than avoiding or dismissing them.

Secondly, we need dedication and wisdom to reduce suffering skilfully. Just intending to help isn’t enough; we need to develop wise and skilful ways to do this, and these are some of the skills you can develop through this series of blog posts.

This may all sound a bit like hard work, so it’s worth asking: Why do we need compassion? Researchers have found that practising compassion is linked to many positive benefits. It leads to reduced self-criticism and worry, a decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety, and an improvement in self-worth and self-esteem. Furthermore, when we reflect, having a compassionate relationship with ourselves makes a great deal of sense. After all, life can be challenging for all of us at times.

We all experience setbacks, rejections, painful emotions, physical illnesses, and loss. Many of us blame ourselves for our difficulties in life, which only intensifies the situation. However, when we look at the three main reasons we experience distress, we can see that they have nothing to do with any personal failings.

Firstly, we possess a brain and body that were created for us, not by us. By this, I mean our brain and body evolved with emotions such as fear and anger, and behaviours like fighting, avoiding, and running away to aid our survival. However, these can also cause us significant pain.

Secondly, as we age, our lives eventually end. This is the reality of life, and for many of us, knowing this will happen can cause distress.

Finally, life experiences shape us, and they are not always in our control. These experiences shape our minds and, eventually, the people we become.

For example, had you been brought up by your next-door neighbours instead of your family, you would likely be a different person, with unique interests, lifestyles, and differing political or religious beliefs.

When we view our distress in this manner, nurturing a compassionate attitude towards ourselves makes a great deal of sense. We must understand our minds and learn to engage with them kindly.