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CASE STUDIES
It’s OK not to be Ok
Hear from Mark Whalley,
Engineering Controller,
about his journey with mental health…
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"It is inevitable that your professional career will overspill into your personal life. This is not necessarily a bad thing, what we do outside of work is a larger part of who we are.
Prior to working at Greencore, I was working within an environment that was very high pressure, very high pace and very high stakes. The future of the site was at stake.
I worked hard and became so absorbed that I forgot how to balance my working time and my home time. I am married with two daughters and together we are normally a fun bunch. The fun had gone, and I was unable to communicate how I felt and slowly became more and more uncommunicative with my family. The most damming comment came from my then 6-year daughter who said, “Daddy you need to go and have a sleep and wake up a nicer person”. It was a great wakeup call, if you pardon the pun.
Since then, I have worked with Angie, our counsellor here at Kiveton, and I am better able to make the judgment call about balancing my time and my mental energy. It helps to reflect at the end of the day and accept that it is OK not to be OK. It’s how you manage that and how you get the help you think you need. I used to think I didn’t need the help, and that it was just the way things are. I no longer believe that is true.
Opening up can take a lot and you may feel vulnerable. That is also normal. However, the benefits are so much greater and I have benefited from speaking about how I feel with friends, work colleagues and professionals. They all offered a different kind of support. I’m not cured and I don’t think I ever will be, but I am more aware and that is most important, because I have ways to deal with it. My family are aware and they can talk to me about how I make them feel. I am probably having more fun now with my family than I ever did.”
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Start your conversation about mental health…
Talking and listening saves lives.
Team Building Work
Hear from Leighton Hill, Despatch Shift Manager
“Six months ago, with the support of my Line Manager and Mentor I was offered counselling through work. I was sceptical and a potential critique of this, and I never believed it was something that I needed. I never realised how issues in work or life outside that I have either buried or hung onto have shaped the way I have gone through life. It’s not to say that this changes you overnight and that you won’t make mistakes along the way but what it teaches you is that it’s ok to make the mistakes, it’s how you learn from them and move forward. I openly talk to others (which I thought wouldn’t be easy) that I see a counsellor (Angie Loraine), and the responses I get about counselling in general vary. Opening up can be challenging in itself, but I can easily say it’s ok to not to be ok. If you have thought about Counselling, then do it.”
Hear from Lauren Briggs,
SHE Officer…
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"I have worked for Greencore, Kiveton for 4 years and I have said for a long time now how much I enjoy my job as it varies every day and I have different challenges thrown at me, which tests me in a good way!
But sometimes life can get the better of us whether we have been dealing with bereavement, relationship problems or stresses at work.
I had such a time late last year and even this year so with the help of my Manager, David Stancill, I sought counselling from Angie who has helped me, taught me, and guided me through my mind, how it works and how I can deal with different issues that are presented to me. Angie has opened my mind to different coping mechanisms that I have been using for the last 6 months and still use to this day.
Without the help of Angie, I honestly believe I would still be in a dark place (mentally), but I have since become a much happier, brighter person who is willing to share my thoughts and feelings more openly. I have a much more positive outlook on life, and I hope that others who may be feeling lost or down seek the help of Angie, there is no shame in asking for help!
I still have wobbles and days that make me think I will go back to where I was before, but I use the coping mechanisms that I have been taught and I find myself back to a much happier place once again."
