‘I Don’t Think I’d Be Here If It Weren’t For Mental Health First Aid’

MHFA is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid training, providing people with the skills and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues. It also teaches trainees to effectively guide a person towards the right support, be that self-help or professional services.

Receiving an email from Dermalogica’s newly-trained mental health first aid team last summer, Rachael contacted them immediately. “I was really struggling and I saw it as a bit of a sign. I didn’t really know who else to go to,” she said.

Sarah, Dermalogica’s HR manager and one of two mental health first aiders, told HuffPost UK she was shocked at just how many people reached out for help after the email went out to all staff. Very quickly, she became Rachael’s lifeline.

As Rachael said: “Sarah noticed I wasn’t how I usually was, it made me feel like I’m not invisible. To also sit there and let me speak about how I feel and what’s happened, and take everything in, it made me feel reassured that I wasn’t just an employee, but she took my personal and mental health into consideration.”

[Read More: Why I Became A Mental Health First Aider And You Should Too]

Together, Rachael and Sarah discussed the next best steps to take: they phoned the GP together and went to an appointment that very same day. “Sarah personally took me to my doctor’s,” Rachael said. “When I had my appointment, she came in with me as well so they could discuss what would be the best thing for me at work, as well as what steps my doctor wanted to take.”

Rachael ended up taking three weeks off work and then began a phased return with the help of Sarah. She also had private counselling, instigated through the company’s employee benefits scheme, and free cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) via her GP.

“I don’t feel I get a lot of support outside of work. That’s a very big struggle,” said Rachael. “When I saw that [support] from Sarah, it made me emotional to know there was somebody who did care.”