The Creative Hub, The Storey Meeting House Lane Lancaster, LA1 1TH

Mental Health Matters

10th October 2024 by Lauren Randall

By Julie Brown, Executive Director

A couple of years ago, a freelance stage manager who’d recently been working with us, rang me out of the blue. ‘I just wanted to let you know that the First Aid course you sent me on a few months back, helped me to save someone’s life yesterday…’ And the story unfolded – she’d passed a chap in the street who was clearly in pain and struggling to stand, and the training had given her the confidence and know-how to approach him and get the appropriate help. It was good to hear.

While we all hope that these situations won’t arise often and that, if and when they do, we too will have the confidence and know-how to deal with it well, the fact is that people around us may be struggling at any given time – colleagues, friends, family, strangers – it may just not be so obvious.

We are a small company – just 5 on the payroll, plus a bunch of amazing freelancers who we heavily rely on. Recently, 2 of our people, including me, have taken Mental Health First Aid training. It’s one of those things I’ve been meaning to do, but not quite prioritising it. But finally got it booked and set the 2 days aside, and I’m so glad I did. We work in an industry of constant pressure: there’s the peaks and troughs of making work, putting on the show, the immediacy of getting it right, tight schedules and deadlines, and the crash back down when the show is over. And there’s the constant low hum of pressure – can we afford to keep making work we want to make and being ambitious, where are the longer-term partnerships, will the wonderful people we work with be able to sustain their careers in this flaky sector? It’s a challenge. OK, we’re not down the coalmines, or trying to find a cure for cancer – that’s pressure at a whole other level – but we’re working long and hard. It’s no wonder that, from time to time, our mental health suffers.

I learned a lot on the 2-day course – some of it was a series of steps to go through when we can sense that something isn’t quite right, or when approached for help, and about recognising the signs that someone may need a bit of support. There were several times during the 2-days that I had real ‘aha!’ moments – thinking back to things I’d seen, heard, or experienced, and now being able to recognise what that most likely was. Some of the takeaways for me were learning about our stress limits, our ‘snapping signatures’ (I realise now that mine is that I’m very snappy and can be pretty mean when I’m stressed!) but also the range of resources available, which help with a multitude of mental health conditions. And hope – understanding the facts around recovery was an eye-opener, and there is every reason to look forward with hope and positivity. We are all somewhere on the mental health continuum, and probably regularly moving around within it. What’s important is recognising this in ourselves, and in those around us, and feeling confident and equipped to offer help. It’s not about diagnosing, or being an expert in mental health conditions, it’s First Aid – it’s about knowing when to ask, ‘are you OK?’ – and the next steps to take when we hear the answer.

Find out more about Mental Health First Aid training

Photo by Ed Waring, Macbeth rehearsals 2023

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