Think positive

Dr Shaun Davis’ second book on improving mental health, Positive Mental Health, hit the shelves in January.

Following the release of our global director compliance and sustainability’s new book, which follows the success of his first release, Positive Male Mind, we asked colleagues to provide a short answer to one, or both, of the following questions, ‘How do you think mental health can be improved?’ or ‘How can we reduce the stigma around mental health?’

Press play to hear why Dr Shaun penned Positive Mental Health as he talked to RMtv presenter Bryony Billson about the book, mental health and Royal Mail’s response.

Below are some of your answers.

Warrington postwoman, Emese Delceg

‘I believe the best way to improve our mental health is to open up and talk about our concerns with friends or loved ones, who can then provide support emotionally.

‘Colleagues should also be encouraged to do physical activities such as yoga, jogging, or swimming. It’s a perfect way to spend some quality time together and release those stress levels.’

Media specialist, Sarah Kujawiak

‘The more mental health-related stories we see, the more ‘normalised’ the subject becomes and the more confident colleagues will be in sharing. I think managers should be trained to look for ‘signs’ and encourage honest dialogue in their one-to-ones. Colleagues need to know they are “safe” to tell the truth. Hiding one’s poor mental health and trying to “cope” only worsens the issue.’

Desk account manager, Stacey Firn

‘I feel mental health can be improved by taking time to understand colleagues and learn what’s important to them. We’ve run some sessions in our office where everyone brought something in that they felt represented them and discussed this in a group. It brought out a lot of things we possibly didn’t know about each other and people really opened up, which helped us better appreciate their circumstances and learn what’s important to them.’

Content on Demand

Former postman and now senior postbox strategy revisions manager Paul Brown’s story about his mental health depressions while with Royal Mail is now available to watch under the ‘Supporting our people’ tab on Content on Demand.

Help is at hand

Go to the Feeling First Class portal (log-in or register with the code FFC1) and complete the mental health eLearning ‘Because Healthy Minds Matter’. You can also access helpful mental and physical health support content and complete the online stress tool.

Feeling First Class is available via www.feelingfirstclass.co.uk. You can also download the app from both iTunes and the Google Play store.