Grief – a tricky topic, one I’d struggle to tackle had I not faced it head-on earlier this year. It carries guilt, often leaving it unspoken and hard to navigate.
August 30th is Grief Awareness Day, a day to shatter the silence surrounding guilt and bring awareness to this universal human emotion.
At TQUK, we understand the link between mental health and navigating grief. Something we know can affect work and our general day-to-day life. That’s why we’re proud to have our Mental Health First Aiders, who offer our staff support when they need it.
Julia Deloughry, one of our Mental Health First Aiders, shared her perspective:
‘It is important to acknowledge loss and the personal effects grief can have on your mental and physical well-being. I lost my Dad to Covid two weeks after the first lockdown. I think about him most days and how it has impacted on my mood and confidence. Having the support of my manager and knowing I can contact my fellow MH First Aiders and have their non-judgmental support, enables me to make some sense of my experience and move forward. As a MH First Aider, I can draw on my experience, listen, empathise, and guide my colleagues to the support and service that will hopefully help them deal with their issues and in some cases their loss and grief.’
As someone who has used our Mental Health First Aiders in my own journey through grief, I cannot express how valuable of a resource they really are. When losing someone, it can be hard to get back to work, and difficult to continue your day-to-day routine knowing they cannot. I know many, including myself, find it hard to acknowledge that life carries on even without that person. Annoyingly, there isn’t a magic spell that makes this feeling go away, it’s something that we have to deal with every day.
TQUK understands this, they know they cannot stop grief or prevent it (if only!), but what they can do is offer resources such as Mental Health First Aiders. They employ staff and managers who can sympathise with the grieving process and are patient with those who are going through it.
And if you are going through grief, please know you are not alone. There are some great resources out there if you don’t feel like chatting to staff members. Mind is a great resource to reach out to when dealing with anything mental health related.
I will end this blog post with a sentence Julia sent me that I think perfectly sums up grief…
‘It’s just rubbish all around’.
That it is, but amid this emotional clutter, I can’t help but feel insanely lucky to have such a supportive work environment. One that reminds me that amidst this rubbish, there’s room for positivity and fun!
