Mental Health Q&A with Nicole Cogar

We all know mental health is important, especially in 2020 – which has been a difficult time for all. Mind, a charity who provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, have found that “One in four of us will experience a mental health problem and that hundreds of thousands of people are still struggling.” Having a mental health problem is serious and can lead to things like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, violence, and more.

During the pandemic, Mind had 1.7 million views on their coronavirus information hub since March 2020 plus the following stats:

Nicole Cogar, Cento’s Digital Marketing Assistant, recently completed a mental health course during lockdown. We asked her about the importance of mental health in the workplace, as well as gauge the impact of mental health in the fields that Cento recruits in. 

A: I took part in a ‘Mental Health Studies’ course. I learned about suicide, the signs to look out for and the conditions likely to cause it. I learned about violent behaviour, and the most common factors and methods to use if somebody was to become violent. Lastly, I learned about substance abuse and an insight into the various types of substance abuse, and how to identify symptoms, and how to treat a substance abuser. I feel this course will help me recognise situations I wouldn’t have been able to before and how to deal with them should I have to.

A: Poor mental health within any sector could be dangerous, but especially within such trusted industries. For example, if an employee struggled with mental health to the extreme that they became a substance abuser, this would gradually have dangerous side effects in the workplace and on the job. Not only would it be dangerous for a substance abuser doing their job, but I also think that if their mind is not in the right place, and someone is struggling to focus, this could also have dangerous repercussions on the job success and could cause harm to the person doing the job, and even those working around them.

A: Mental health unfortunately can stem from anything in day to day life but can commonly be caused by the workplace. There are many reported problems that have a substantial adverse impact on mental health, these include low levels of support for employees, harassment and bullying at work and poor communication and management practices.

A: I feel that employers could offer an in-house support service or have an appointed trained mental health advisor in smaller workplaces to make sure the team is supported and taken care of – especially during the pandemic we are all facing.

I feel mental health should be spoken about more in general, as I feel people are scared to talk about it. In doing so, the stigma around it could be broken, and people will feel more comfortable and come to people about their mental health problems. This would be a preventative measure in my opinion, and I myself, will make sure to bring it up in conversations with my co-workers to make sure it is highlighted as important.

Cento acknowledges mental health in the workplace and are constantly striving to assist those who struggle and also break the stigma surrounding it. We’re supporting our team members who are making the world a better place, like Nicole, who are learning the signs and actions she can take to help those around her with a mental health problem. Cento challenges you to do the same!