What is mental health?
Mental health is often described as the mental and emotional state in which we feel able to cope with the normal pressures of everyday life. Factors both inside and outside work can affect our mental health and it can be helpful to think of it as a spectrum ranging from good to poor, that each of us is constantly moving along depending on our personal circumstances.
Mental ill health is very common – the Department of Health and Social Care suggests that one in four of us will experience it at some point in our lives. And anyone can suffer from its effects, ranging from feeling unmanageably stressed to conditions such as anxiety and depression. A limited number of people experience more severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder or paranoia. Some of these conditions can be persistent and may be classed as a disability, whereas others may come and go leading to good days and bad days. With the right support, someone with a diagnosed mental health condition can still enjoy positive mental health.
The text and image above are taken from the introduction to the Mental Health section of the newly launched IP (Intellectual Property) Inclusive website https://ipinclusive.org.uk/mental-health-and-wellbeing.
There’s such a lot of really good material there; you don’t have to be in the Intellectual Property area to find some great stuff. Do take a look and also explore the other pages on the website. We think mental health and well-being is integral to all areas and were so pleased that this was something that emerged from the recent IP Inclusive Annual Meeting.
Jonathan’s Voice have been delighted to be able to collaborate with IP Inclusive in developing the mental health pages – you’ll see our logo right up there! We have a great partnership with IP Inclusive which we value greatly, and thank them for the support for Jonathan’s Voice. We will continue to collaborate on other initiatives, particularly Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13th – May 19th 2019). Look out for news and information about that in the coming months.
