THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
By Terry Kettering

There’s an elephant in the room.
It is large and squatting,
so it is hard to get around it.

Yet we squeeze by with,
“How are you?” and, “I’m fine,”
and a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.

We talk about the weather;
we talk about work;
we talk about everything else—
except the elephant in the room.

There’s an elephant in the room.
We all know it is there.
We are thinking about the elephant
as we talk together.

It is constantly on our minds.
For, you see, it is a very big elephant.
It has hurt us all, but we do not talk about
the elephant in the room.

Oh, please, say her name.
Oh, please, say “Barbara” again.
Oh, please, let’s talk about
the elephant in the room.

For if we talk about her death,
perhaps we can talk about her life.
Can I say, “Barbara” to you
and not have you look away?
For if I cannot,
then you are leaving me alone
in a room—with an elephant.

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Mental health problems at work are common ...

But there are small, simple steps you can take to make your workplace mentally healthier.

Have a look around your workplace. Right now 1 in 6 of you will be experiencing mental health problems like anxiety, depression and unmanageable stress.

You're probably not talking about it because mental health is still a taboo subject. And many people feel scared and confused about confronting the issue at work.

As a result, million of workers are experiencing mental distress feeling isolated and unsupported. And their colleagues are busy trying to ignore the ‘elephant in the room’.

But there are small, simple steps you can take to make your workplace mentally healthier:

• Connect

Take five minutes to do something for your colleagues, make a cup of tea or get them a drink.

• Be active

Go for a walk at lunchtime or just take a moment to grab some fresh air.

• Take notice

Be aware of how your colleagues are really feeling, ask them how they are and have a chat with them.

• Learn

Take a few minutes to expand your mind – read the news, a book, or do a crossword or Sudoku.

• Give

Get to know your colleagues better, host a Wake up your Mindfundraising breakfast to kick start your day.

Let's talk about mental health at work

www.mind.org.uk/work