Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 

Rayna’s Positive Life perspective.

Mental Health Awareness Week plays a key role in increasing public understanding of mental health and ensuring it stays prevalent in conversation.

In this blog, Rayna Warriner — a regular Bistech trainer, experienced professional in the field, and Director at Positive Life Management — tells us how important it is to challenge the stigma around mental health and gives us some tips and tricks on how to improve our own.

Why did you start a career in mental health and wellbeing?

I’d qualified as a counsellor, and while I enjoyed the course, I knew I’d be better at giving people direction and acknowledging individual needs, so progressed into training and coaching. I have a passion for making a difference to others and being able to share my knowledge gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction.

Why is mental health and wellbeing training so important in the workplace?

Training aims to reduce the stigma around what mental health is and normalise it within the workplace, ensuring individuals feel comfortable talking about their mental health and where they can go for support.

Encouraging people to be honest when talking about mental health helps to humanise it and shows it’s normal to be apprehensive about sharing. And providing employees with opportunities to practice initiating these conversations builds their confidence for if and when needed.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week focus is ‘movement’ — how does being active improve our wellbeing?

Being active helps to improve brain and cognitive function, releasing chemicals to enhance your mood and make you feel good. Not only does it increase self-esteem, but it also improves concentration and reduces mental fatigue. Other benefits of being active include reducing tension and stress, meaning better sleep, a healthier appetite, and increased motivation.

You can also include social benefits if you meet with others to be active, and more so if it is outside, as fresh air and nature help to reduce levels of depression and anxiety.

What can people do to develop good mental health and improve their wellbeing?

Start by understanding yourself. Acknowledge your own feelings and be kind to yourself, recognise any triggers and early signs or symptoms you experience. Be aware of unhelpful coping strategies you may have and see if you can make any adjustments to improve your wellbeing.

Here are some simple steps to help:

• Be realistic with your expectations 
• Set achievable goals 
• Start by taking small steps 
• Consider all your choices and options and get support from others if needed 
• Give yourself praise daily 
• Be kind to yourself if you have any setbacks, and start again with a positive mindset  

And of course, being active, getting good sleep, eating a healthy diet, and having positive social relationships all increase good mental health. 

To find out more about our supportive work environment, check out our Instagram page @lifeatbistech.  

Rayna brings 15 years’ experience in training and development across various sectors. She is a CPCAB (Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body) Wellbeing Trainer and Coach, Neuro Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis qualified, and is an accredited mental health trainer with Mental Health First Aid England. She also has a BA Hons degree in Psychology.