Mental Health and the connections of care

Guest blog by Dave Scholes.

I lost my best mate to suicide, have successfully and unsuccessfully tried different forms of counselling, taken GP advice, been prescribed medication and spend a lot of time doubting myself!

Now we have got that out of the way…I also have a brilliant family, run two successful businesses (soon to be three), like a pint, love football and in the midst of it all still have great days and not so great days.

Bit flippant (maybe!) but what I am trying to say, is that we are all different and all have things that affect our mental health, in the same way as things impact our physical health.

These things don’t have to define us, but they do need to be looked after and most importantly they don’t have to be swept under the carpet. Everyone has mental health, and everyone can support someone else in whatever they are going through.

Covid-19 has changed things. Made people think in new ways, work differently (or not at all), assess finances, restructure, re-plan, laugh at the mishaps and cry when it goes a bit leftfield (often all at once). One thing’s for sure, everyone has responded differently each day and that’s ok.

The common thing I’ve seen is that we have found the people around us, whoever that may be; family, friends or neighbours. We have shared, listened, sympathised and backed each other up.

What I have learned in lockdown, is that we all need somebody and having somebody (professional, stranger, friend or family) helps.

Let me tell you about the 6+ Connections of Care!

In 2008 Microsoft worked out that any two strangers are, on average, distanced by precisely 6.6 degrees of separation. In other words, you are linked by a string of around 6 or fewer acquaintances to the Queen or Beyonce. Whichever floats your boat!

HOWEVER, I’m more a connection kind of guy…

What if everyone in the world is connected in 6 conversations? This means I can ‘technically’ support anybody on the planet in 6 chats. WOW!!!

Our business (Mindsight), aims to positively impact negative mental health statistics. We know we can’t do that on our own, and why would we want to? This is where the 6+ Connections of Care comes in.

EVERYONE can create at least 6+ positive wellbeing engagements and be the difference in their world. It could be with friends in the pub or the family at home. A conversation over the garden fence or in the school yard. A simple smile or genuine conversation engages care, reduces stigma and encourages further interaction in weeks to come.

The 6+ model starts with one purposeful conversation. For every one of your conversations, what if the other person then speaks to 6 more people in the same way? And that’s the 6+ Connections of Care.

YOU ARE support – An arm round, a chat, the biggest champion and the best mate.

YOU ARE positive language.

YOU ARE a link to help - not an expert but help to find them.

YOU ARE backup and support

YOU ARE there!

We are ALL DIFFERENT, but we all benefit from a great back up team.

Who are your 6+? Who is your back up team?

About Mindsight

Mindsight helps individuals and businesses, to focus on their number one asset, their people, to help them thrive in and beyond the workspace.

We know that with time and the right help, everyone can learn more about managing their own mental health, what expert advice is available and what supporting others looks like. Over many years, we’ve helped people from all walks of life, through crisis situations and with everyday support.

Mindsight provides top level support, education and training to meet your business’s needs. We don’t break your P&L, but we do maximise your Value on Investment.

To chat about how we can help you or your business [email protected]

For info follow Mindsight Connect on social media or visit mindsight.org.uk.