It’s okay to not be okay – your mental health matters

Poor mental health and mental illness affect our personal lives, our work and our workplace. Work also affects our mental health. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health, and we should take care of both equally.

We all experience a range of moods and emotions— understanding and managing them supports positive mental health and helps us stay balanced in any situation. Mental health is a state of being. It’s about feeling good about who we are, having balance in our lives and in our thinking and managing life’s ups and downs. It impacts how we feel about ourselves and other people. Like our physical health, mental health is a key part of our overall well-being.

Not Myself Today® (NMT) is a workplace mental health initiative that’s presented by the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Image

Its aim is to encourage people to change the way we think and talk about mental health, to learn to support ourselves and others when  we face challenges, and to help build a safe and supportive work environment. Not Myself Today is based on the insight that we all experience mental health challenges. By becoming a part of Not Myself Today initiative, you can contribute to a work environment that supports mental wellbeing. This workplace mental health initiative has three main goals:

• Build greater awareness
• Reduce stigma
• Foster safe and supportive culture

NMT includes an online platform that provides guidance and support for UBC Ambassadors to roll-out digital toolkits and activities for both employees and people managers. The online platform also includes learning tools and resources you can use to plan and implement the initiative. NMT can be integrated into your faculty, department or unit’s already existing  health initiatives or rolled out any time of the year.

Start driving positive change in your workplace with Not Myself Today. Register to become an Ambassador or visit the NMT page to learn about the initiative.