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January 2023: Look after your mental health!
As we start this New Year many of us set resolutions, often targeted at improving ourselves in some way and having a “fresh start”. We may want to improve our physical fitness, increase our knowledge, work on our relationships with others. All worthwhile resolutions. However, one crucial area we should aim to improve that is often neglected by so many of us, is our mental health.
Looking after our mental health is not only something we can struggle with, it is one goal that does not necessarily benefit from having a fresh start and forget the past. With most other goals we may set ourselves, we often feel a clean slate is the best thing. It doesn’t matter what we did the year before, just what we do from now.
This is not so simple when it comes to our mental health. Forgetting those things that have gone before, that are affecting us today, often means those mental scars begin to affect our lives going forward. We may have to deal with those things of the past to be able to look after our mental wellbeing.
Men especially (though not exclusively) are known to struggle with dealing with these issues as they may not want to talk about it and feel that isn’t what a man does. I myself have struggled with this in the past. Many years ago, I had some personal traumas that I hadn’t realised had affected me. I dealt with them by blocking them out and throwing myself into work so I didn’t have to think about those things.
Years later I was encouraged to talk to a professional about my struggles mentally in certain situations. This is something I had never been comfortable with, but by speaking to a therapist those things I had tried to just forget about and move on were still affecting me. By talking about them and understanding how they affected me in the present I was able to move on properly.
So, as we progress through 2023, let’s prioritise our mental health by learning and healing from the past and getting support from sources like those mentioned in our Hot Topic below. This will enable you to be able to get the most from your Apprenticeship programme and be successful this new year.
Mike Austin
Director
For more information:
Mental health – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
