Robin Williams RIP

Mental Health – there must be more we can do

Robin Williams. RIP

I, like millions of others, woke up this morning to hear the exceptionally sad news that the much-loved comedian and actor Robin Williams had died.

A man who literally made millions of us laugh has left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment and the childhoods of many. From Good Morning Vietnam to the Dead Poets’ Society and from Jumanji to Mrs Doubtfire; Williams was an accomplished actor with seemingly boundless energy and humility.

But beneath the laughter lay a man riddled with doubt, insecurity and a dark, desperate depression. Well documented battles with drugs, alcohol and mental health have seemingly finally taken their toll.

It leads me to think about mental health and the stigma which is still attached to it – not only in society but in the workplace too. If someone you know breaks their leg, their plaster cast is a visual reminder that’s something’s wrong and that person may need some help. But with mental health the signs aren’t always so clear and the problems not so easily understood.

In a world where the pace of life seems to get faster and faster as the days go by, it seems we often forget to ask the simple questions of others around us; how are you? Are you feeling ok? Do you need to talk?

Millions are suffering in silence and there’s a desperate need for more to be done. Statistics suggest that one in six workers in the UK suffer with some sort of mental health problem – whether it’s anxiety, depression or stress. That suggests more than 100 of my staff could be suffering – many in silence; and that just doesn’t seem right to me.

We need to do more to support people with mental health problems. Here at Wolverhampton Homes we have a counselling service which I hope is of use to colleagues who feel they might need it. But I suspect many who really do need it don’t come forward because they simply don’t want anyone to know. We need to deal with that mind-set – not just here but in society as a whole. We all need to do more and create a culture where we can talk openly about mental health.

Today I’m going to email all of my staff and remind them that we have services that can help – and that there are people out there like the Samaritans and countless others groups who can help.

We need to change our attitudes towards mental health. Let’s start that now.