Mental health awareness in the service industry

7th December 2021

Category: Uncategorized

According to the Office of National Statistics, depression rates in labour intensive jobs are much higher than the national average; Between 2011 and 2015, those in elementary and skilled trade occupations made up 46% of all male suicides. 81% of all suicides were also made up by men. As we work closely with many service businesses throughout the UK, we want to help raise awareness of how to battle depression and stay happy during tough times. Here’s some things that can help:

 

Exercise 

Exercising increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid. These are all brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, less anxious and even less physical pain. Exercise is also shown to help some people with depression, which experts say could be due to an increase in nerve cell growth in the brain that happens when you exercise.

 

Do things you enjoy

While it sounds obvious, it’s common for people who are feeling depressed to isolate themselves and get into routines of spending a lot of time alone not doing anything. Instead, keeping in touch with friends and proactively doing things you find fun will improve your mood as well as help take your mind off anything you might be stressed about. 

    

Talk to someone

Leading on from the last point, spending time socialising with others is also important because it gives you someone to talk to. It’s not healthy to lock all your feelings away; talking to other people about your problems will relieve stress, and they may also offer you useful advice. Many people find it difficult to talk about their emotions and feel a certain stigma around the topic of depression, but talking about it is so important and having someone to help you deal with it can relieve a lot of pressure and make you feel less alone. 

 

Have a healthy diet

Having a healthy, well balanced diet is good for your body, but it’s also good for your mental health. Blood sugar for example is what gives us energy and so to maintain a stable mood, you want to maintain your blood sugar levels. Foods which are slow to digest and high in fiber will help with this such as apples, nuts, beans, oatmeal.

Foods with lots of sugar in them such as chocolate bars and fizzy drinks will initially boost your blood sugar quite a lot. The issue is, this doesn’t last very long and shortly after your blood sugar levels come crashing back down. These spikes and falls can make you feel tired and irritable.

Caffeine in sugary drinks/coffee can also interfere with your sleep schedule so trying to remove these from your lifestyle slowly is a good idea

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