What I didn't predict from the first 2 weeks of Australia's Biggest Mental Health Check-in...



Night and day since we launched Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in, hundreds of completed reports gently buzz through for review on our screens. It is week 3 and the momentum has started to spread as more organisations join individuals all over Australia to see how they are tracking.  Impressive leadership has been shown by organisations such as HBF, PwC, Wesfarmers, CBH, Broadspectrum, Integro, and Intework to name a few – recognising that mental health is everyone’s business and making the Check-in free to employees who wish to take it.
 
We had predicted that some people would check in because life feels hard, but they hadn’t yet done themselves the honour of figuring out what to do about it.  We also predicted that others would take the opportunity to be curious about their profiles and take a psychological selfie incorporating Medibio’s game changing technology.

What we didn’t predict was such positive feedback about what it was like for people to give themselves the space to ask some important questions. The Check-in has asked people to take a moment and reflect, and the sense of optimism expressed by people checking-in has been profound.

“Thinking about things now I’ve probably had in the corner of my mind” 
“Makes you have a good look at how you cope with things” 
“Thank you - it made me think about myself which I don't usually have time for”

Personally, what I really didn’t predict was the overwhelming sense of humanity the team and I would feel as people reflected so honestly on how they were managing their lives.  We’ve heard so much in recent years about resilience, positive psychology and focusing on our strengths.  It’s all good - but it is also important to pull up a seat next to Vulnerability sometimes and recognise that we all share the tougher stuff too. The conversations we are having as a result are connecting, instead of isolating us. They don’t make things worse, they make them better.

Results will be published after November 10th, but broadly speaking, what we’ve learned so far from our analysis includes this:
  •  Overall wellbeing scores are directly linked to whether people engage (move towards) or disengage (move away) from other people, to find a solution during times of stress.
  • If wishful thinking or self-criticism are companions of yours, you probably have higher depression or anxiety scores than others
  •  If your social awareness or self-awareness scores are lower than average or if there is a significant difference in the scores, you are much more likely to have your happiness negatively impacted – either through increased anxiety or elevated scores on depression.

Knowing this and a lot of other information about how we function is the first step to dropping a google earth pin to help us find the best way to improve wellbeing. Whether it is already good or not… Like an aircraft dashboard we can recalibrate a few small dials and alter our course a little more.

We will publish the data analysis from Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in at a function with our Ambassadors following November 10.   

 There is still time  to Check-in with Australia - register now: www.mentalhealthcheckin.com


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