Growing a Culture of Better Mental Health at Polypipe Building Services

At Polypipe Building Services’ Kent headquarters Mental Health First Aiders will mark Mental Health with a series of events from May 9th.

Employees across the business can pop up, join in, grab a coffee, and take time to chat to one of the 17 MHFAs as part of an entire day of activities aimed at supporting West Kent Mind on their ‘Wear It Blue Day’ on May 11^th, which forms part of the awareness week.

Among them will be MHFA’s Kirsty Mitchell and Caroline Lewis, both friends from school, who made the decision to train as MHFA’s because of their experiences of managing their own mental health which by sharing they hope will encourage others to reach out for support.

Caroline’s story: “I’d had counselling in my twenties due to the relationships I had with the men in my life from family to ex-partners. It felt like I had all this stuff in my head which I needed to file and close the lid on because I didn’t want to keep carrying that baggage around and let it stop me from having healthy relationships in future.

It was that counselling which helped me leave the relationship I was in at that time and see it for what it was. It also helped me to understand myself better and what I was looking for in a relationship, so I was able to make better choices and not think that was all I deserved. I used to come out of those sessions feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Then four years ago I began struggling with anxiety and this resurfaced with Covid because I developed a fear of going out and of feeling sick. I ended up having around 30 days off because I often felt I couldn’t drive, for example. What made the difference was that I could be open and honest with my manager at Polypipe about that and there was lots of support there for me.

That support and the understanding I had from my original counsellor really helped, and now I hope I can give something back by sharing my own journey and reassure people that your mindset can change, and you can work on it.”

Kirsty’s story: “Where I’ve worked before there was always the feeling that if you spoke up about your mental health problems you would be overlooked for things like promotion, and thankfully Polypipe doesn’t have that culture.

I began experiencing anxiety from an early age due to different situations, partly through learnt behaviours watching close family members experiencing poor mental health, as well as being bullied quite severely at school which took its toll on my self-esteem and confidence.

Someone said to me ‘you can’t have mental ill health because you’re a MHFA,’ but what makes me a better MHFA is my experience of mental health and being able to share that. It takes someone to open up for another person to know they can too and to build that trust.

I still experience anxiety now, but in lesser forms. Counselling and CBT made me realise my voice matters and validated my thoughts, and I’ve learnt coping strategies such as breathing techniques. I know what triggers my anxieties, such as more formal situations which make me nervous, or attending in person training sessions for example, where I feel anxious in case I don't know the answers or can't keep up with the group.

Being an MHFA doesn’t mean lots of people come to me, some do, but if I see signs that someone is distressed I will approach them and see how I can help.

Working in health and safety, people regularly come to me with questions and frustrations, so I make sure they feel heard and keep track of their concerns to make sure they are responded to.

In work briefing sessions I run, I try to set a kind, friendly and supportive training atmosphere for all, because I think it's important to consider the impact of our words and be respectful of each other.”

The mental health training at Polypipe is delivered with West Kent Mind, a charity Polypipe are fundraising for on ‘Wear It Blue’ day for the first time with walk and talks, cake sales and sponsored step challenges.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 takes place from May 9^th, and is an annual event hosted by the Mental Health Foundation which has become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK.