A leading mental health charity will focus on stress as part of an awareness campaign offering free workshops to help people cope in the workplace.

May 14 - 20 marks Mental Health Awareness Week 2018, and Mind in Harrow has launched the Head for Work project focusing on helping people to create mentally healthy working environments.

This year, Mental Health Awareness week is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, who chose stress are their theme.

Mind in Harrow said experiencing long-term stress can lead to mental health problems making the problem worse.

Mind’s Head for Work scheme will deliver open workshops for workplaces entitled, “How to Cope with Stress and Improve Your Wellbeing”, where people can feel valued and supported.

Chief executive for Mind in Harrow, Mark Gillham, said: “Mind’s research shows that a culture of fear and silence around mental health is costly to employers: one in five people take a day off work due to stress.

“One in ten people have resigned a job due to stress while one in four have thought about it.

“In 2016/17 there were 12.5 million working days lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety.”

Mr Gillam said the project delivers “specialist, tailored mental health awareness training”, which is employer focused.

The Head for Work interactive workshop will explore the nature of stress and its causes and effects and offer advice on how to deal with it.

People will have an opportunity to identify their strengths, build on working strategies and creation an “action plan”.

Mind have published strategies for dealing with stress which include deep, rhythmic breathing through the nose and out through the mouth, lowing the heart rate; plenty of physical exercise and a balanced diet avoiding too much caffeine, and drinking plenty of water.

To find out more email Hanlie Burger on h.burger@mindinharrow.org.uk