By Hol Thomas-Wrightson, 10 October 2024
While mental wellbeing is always worth prioritising, today (10 October) is World Mental Health Day. It offers a valuable opportunity to take a moment to check in with ourselves and others, and to break down mental health stigma by having honest conversations about how we are feeling.
2024’s theme is 'Mental Health at Work’, with the focus on how workplaces can create an environment in which employees can mentally thrive, and access help if and when they need it. It also looks at what individuals can do to help manage their own mental health at work.
For so many of us, work plays a big part in our lives. It is not just somewhere we spend time and earn an income, but where we build connections with colleagues and clients. At turns it can be satisfying or challenging. We all experience highs and lows in life, and sometimes pressures at home, within social groups, or in work can get on top of us. What’s important to remember is that there are ways of managing these negative feelings, and to seek support to help you through it.
Mental toughness
Mental toughness is a phrase used in psychology to describe the resilience and strength that gives a person the ability to keep going in the face of stress and struggles, and the determination to reach their goals despite difficulties. Research has found that this mental toughness can be a deciding factor for a lot of people succeeding in sports, education and creative endeavours, more than ability or intelligence.[1]
As motivational speaker Penny Mallory explains in her podcast, what happens to us plays a smaller role in our success and happiness than our responses to what happens. As we explored for last year’s World Mental Health Day,[2] it sometimes seems like our feelings and reactions are an intrinsic part of who we are. But taking the time to consider how we react to stressful situations can create an opportunity to think if there’s another way we would like to behave.
The four Cs of mental toughness
- Challenge – Rather than seeing challenges as obstacles, meet them with the view that they provide an opportunity to grow and improve. Regroup and try again from a different angle, and don’t give up.
- Control – Believe in yourself and that you are in control of your own life, and for anything that is out of your power to control, know that you can at least choose how to react and what your next step will be.
- Commitment – Set goals, whether short term or long term, and commit to seeing them through to the end. Remember to make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If a goal feels too big, break it down into smaller, more manageable goals so they don’t feel insurmountable.
- Confidence – Have faith in yourself and your ability to succeed. Believe that even if you run into hurdles along the way, you are strong enough to overcome them and think of ways around them.
Building good habits
Like most things in life, it takes practice to build mental toughness. Think of it like a muscle: it takes training and exercising it to strengthen your ability. Here are some habits that Mallory suggests to help hone your toughness.
- Try to be open and optimistic about change. As the saying goes, the only constant is change. By practising flexibility and adaptability on the small things, it can help you deal with bigger changes down the line.
- Develop a strong inner compass. By deciding on your goals, you are creating your own direction to follow, so you don’t have to worry about becoming lost. It also helps you to set your standards, providing motivation even if you encounter tough times.
Stronger than being tough
Building mental toughness can give you the tools to manoeuvre around temporary barriers and keep going after a setback.
However, what is more important to remember is that it takes strength to ask for help. Suffering in silence isn’t bravery; trusting that others care and want to help is. If you are experiencing more bad days than good, or it feels like life is getting on top of you, it’s time to have honest conversations about your feelings with others, whether that’s a partner, family member, friends, colleagues, or seeking help through an employee assistance programme or your GP.
Just because a lot of people put on a brave face or post positivity on their social media does not mean that others aren’t experiencing similar issues to you. 1 in 4 adults a year in England will experience mental health problems, with 1 in 6 reporting a common mental health problem such as anxiety or depression in any given week.[3] However it may feel at times, you are not alone, and you don’t have to handle it on your own either.
[1] James Clear, ‘The Science of Developing Mental Toughness in Your Health, Work, and Life’, https://jamesclear.com/mental-toughness – accessed October 2024
[2] Hol Thomas Wrightson, ‘How to care for your mental health’, ICA, 10 October 2023: https://www.int-comp.org/insight/how-to-care-for-your-mental-health/ – accessed October 2024
[3] Mind, ‘Mental health facts and statistics’: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/mental-health-facts-and-statistics/ – accessed October 2024