This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is loneliness, something which affects many of us at one time or another. Loneliness can be both the driver of and a product of poor mental health.
One of the ways to help work through feelings of loneliness is to have someone trained at work, someone who understands the industry, and who can offer confidential support.
Construction industry workers are three times more likely to take their own life than people in other sectors according to The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity commissioned research with Glasgow Caledonian University.
Brogan Group have a team of ‘Mental Health First Aiders’ in place for our staff, which has recently been expanded with female ‘Mental Health First Aiders’ to ensure a suitable gender balance for our employees, who may require support on-site and in our offices.
These services are supplemented by the Lighthouse Charity, who have a 24-hour helpline service that provides free support for all construction workers and their families.
So, for those who can use this week to start sharing advice, words of support and empathy with people and, as Tchiki Davis writes in an interesting Psychology Today article, reclaim what it means to ‘share’ online, from humble-bragging to giving a small or large portion of what is yours to someone else.
The article on 18 Ways to Overcome Loneliness https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/click-here-happiness/201902/feeling-lonely-discover-18-ways-overcome-loneliness
Lighthouse Club - support for Construction Workers and their Families https://www.lighthouseclub.org/