Am I OK?

In this guest post, Chloe Hooper (lead image) from BareFeat shines a light on agency mental health and says as much as the R U OK? initiative is important, so is asking yourself the question ‘AM I OK?’

Last week, the country spent the day asking, ‘R U OK?’ Personal stories were shared, money was donated, and awareness was raised about the importance of mental health. This is one of the most important days of the year as it encourages people to start an ongoing conversation that could change or save a life.

I’m sure we can all acknowledge that it’s difficult to know where to begin when approaching conversations around mental health. When I reflect on the growth we have had as an industry, my journey, as well as those I have had the privilege of training on how to have a mental health conversation, I can see that slowly, but surely, we are developing the confidence needed to ask others “R U OK?”.

This is crucial. However, there is another question we need to start asking, and that is,

‘AM I OK?’

Take a moment. When was the last time you asked yourself this question?

We all know the importance of ‘putting your safety mask on first’, and I’m sure many of us can hear RuPaul’s famous saying, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love anyone else?!”. AM I OK? is aimed to teach us that checking in with yourself is just as important as checking in on others, so…are you proactively looking after your mental health and wellbeing? If you reflect on the advice you have given others, have you held up a mirror and taken that advice yourself? Are you speaking to yourself kindly and celebrating your wins, no matter how small?

In the past few years, businesses have invested in supporting their people and implemented many initiatives that help teammates look out for one another. Although psychological safety is a high priority, I have spoken to many industry leaders and their teams who are still struggling when it comes to identifying what may be affecting their mental health. On average, I have about five people per week open up about the challenges they are facing during business conversations where wellbeing is not on the agenda.

The latest Mentally Healthy survey showed 46 per cent of respondents displaying mild to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. It’s only when people start experiencing burnout that they proactively seek help or begin to reflect on their mental health. I want to encourage everyone to self-reflect before it gets to that stage. I want to hear the stories of people who self-regulate, self-reflect, and create a balance in their lives before they reach this point. I am on a mission to create a shift within our industry. 

In partnership with MOOD tea, we are on a mission to help people ask themselves – ‘AM I OK?’. Our goal is to equip everyone with the tools they need to support themselves to overcome their challenges. We’re doing this through 2 unique experiences.

1. TEA BREAKS are designed to facilitate conversations and promote action around proactively looking after your mental health and wellbeing. Mental health and wellness should be something that everyone practices every day, in the same way, they go to the gym to look after their physical health. TEA BREAKS provide digestible content that drives action through insightful conversation. Our 8 Tea-Breaks focus on the eight most essential elements of driving positive mental health in the workplace.
2. DAY BREAKS are for those looking to reset; this is for people who continuously look after others and know they need to start looking after themselves. This experience is dedicated to helping people take responsibility for proactively looking after their wellbeing.

Most importantly, these experiences are designed to keep the conversation going and focus on people practising self-leadership. I recently had a conversation with a business leader who said, ‘talking about mental health in the workplace has been damaging to productivity’. But how many of us have sat paralysed at our desks, unable to get something done because we feel overwhelmed? How many of us haven’t added value in a meeting because we didn’t feel confident to speak up? How many of us have been worn down through fear of having a difficult conversation? The sooner people can face their challenges head-on and get the support they need, the better it will be for them and for the business. But most importantly, the quicker they will recover.

If you are interested in taking your first step on the journey reach out to Chloe@barefeatbusiness or Kate@unltd.org.au