How to have a conversation about mental health
Do you agree that there should be healthier and more courageous conversations about mental health? While last week was Mental Health Awareness Week, it should not just be a one-week thing. It should be an all-day every day, 365 days a year conversation and relatable topic.
However, many people still find it hard to approach the conversation of mental health. It still is one of the most challenging topics to talk about. Overcoming this hurdle of opening up feels so uncomfortable that most of the time, we think it's better to not say anything at all than risk saying the wrong thing.
I've been learning a lot recently in my training about how we process emotions differently and the need for us to work through different types of trauma and have conversations around it to normalise it. So I wanted to offer you just a few insights or ways in which you can start to tackle these conversations.
Ask an open-ended question.
You can start with:
"I've noticed you haven't been quite yourself recently. Is there anything you want to share?"
"Can you tell me a bit more about how you felt last week?"
"What's come up for you this week?"
"Is there anything pressing you want to discuss with me?"
These conversation starters will allow somebody the opportunity to open up if things aren't quite working well for them. This starts the playing field for you to both co-create and have a conversation together.
Listen and be present.
It's important to listen to the other person with the intention to be on the same page as them, and not just to listen with an agenda in mind. Sometimes we listen but try to find a gap that we can fill with problem-solving advice or our own insights. We actually just need to be present and hold a safe space for somebody to communicate what's going on for them.
So be aware of where your mind is wandering off, or perhaps when you are keen to jump in with some advice.
Give people validation.
One way of holding a safe space for them is to validate what they're going through or at least try to understand them better. It will show that you're trying to support them, which then encourages the person to open up to you.
You can say things like:
"I can see that this is really upsetting for you."
"I'm curious to know how this makes you feel."
"You have the right to feel that way."
Continue to show your curiosity.
It's really important to lean in, even when you think the conversation is going into a depth that you haven't explored or experienced before. Then, offer your support or things you can do to make their struggles a bit better.
Being curious invites you to have a deeper understanding of the situation that somebody else is in.
Share your experience.
If it's useful, share your experience as well. It's not always important for you to have a like-me situation.
If you feel like there is an opening for you to be vulnerable and share a similar experience you went through, do so. This will encourage and support somebody else to open up and feel safe for them to lower their ground around you.
We're human, and we like being connected to one another. It's important that you're not coming from this conversation from a place of perfection and all-knowingness.
Hopefully, this has given a few tips on how you can have healthier conversations around mental health. However, if you need more tools, resources and more profound training on how you can manage your team's energy and resilience, you can check our Be Happy First Programme via the link below.