So often the person suffering from poor mental health will not openly broadcast their problems. They can appear ‘hidden’ and many silent signals could be passed un-noticed if one hasn’t been equipped and practised in how to identify them.
Pulling Away from the Team
Someone who is normally involved in conversations, may start to withdraw from them in meetings. They may start to eat lunch alone in the canteen, each day. Withdrawal from normal social contact is one of the early signs that someone may be suffering from some form of mental health problem.
Struggling to Concentrate or Decide
Watch for uncharacteristic indecision, small tasks taking far longer than usual to complete, and work being done of a very poor standard. This kind of change in someone’s concentration and overall output of work often happens before they’ve even acknowledged that they’re feeling low or struggling in some way.
Mentioning Poor Sleep or Low Energy
Offhand comments about not sleeping or feeling exhausted most of the time can easily get ignored. However, a staff member with some training can hear these comments and start to investigate if everything is okay.
Unusual Irritability or Emotional Reactions
Short tempered, tearful or suddenly emotional reactions to normal everyday events and difficulties that others would deal with are signs of someone being under severe pressure.
Changes in Presentation or Timekeeping
Consistent lateness and drop in work standards or change in appearance/attitude/behaviour.
Mental Health Training Courses focus on teaching staff members to notice change early and how to deal with a crisis before it happens. A great starting point for identifying signs of mental health problems is the list of recognised signs of mental health problems that the NHS has compiled for a range of different conditions.
For Mental Health Training Courses, visit https://www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses.
Noticing early is what makes a practical difference.