Dave Diesbergen Shares His Thoughts for Mental Health Week 2018

At D2 Rail, we have all been thinking about Mental Health this week and in particular the effects of stress.

Our senior team have of course been heavily involved and to round off a thought provoking week, here’s our Managing Director David Diesbergen, sharing his thoughts…

“For mental health week it is extremely important that everyone takes the opportunity to promote the fact that no one should feel that they can’t talk about how they really feel.

Throughout my career, I have witnessed first-hand the ‘stigma’ that has been associated with showing signs of mental health issues. In recent years, we have made huge steps to break down the barriers associated with mental health, however, we can all play a significant part to making even further steps forward.

Everyone’s mental health is affected by numerous day to day factors both inside and outside the working environment, but one thing is clear, whatever the issue might be, it does affect us on a daily basis.

On a personal note, I have regularly faced situations where I have felt overwhelmed by the amount of challenges I have had to deal with, which in turn increases stress levels to an unacceptable level. Ultimately if this is not managed carefully, then stress levels can cause people to feel dejected and in some cases depressed. I know from experience that there is nothing worse than feeling that you could have helped someone but didn’t know they needed help. Whilst you can try and read the signs of stress; they can be well hidden by anyone suffering and not at all obvious. Asking for support is not a weakness – we all need help from time to time – it’s about being there when someone needs to talk, listening and offering advice on how to deal with a situation they may find themselves in.

Talking about this topic and taking away the stigma of mental health issues and stress can help a lot of people out of a very dark place in their lives. We all can play such an important part in our friends, families and colleagues lives by just being there for support. Without people having the courage to speak out, we might find ourselves in situations where we feel we could have done more to help. If only we had seen the signs that they needed support or better still that they felt they could ask for it.

I urge anyone who feels they need help to have the confidence to ask for it and for everyone who finds themselves in a situation where they are being asked for support to make the time to listen to those that have had the confidence to ask. Please remember this can come in a number of different forms and can be a chat over a cup of tea (or in my case for those that know me that would have to be coffee), which can make a world of difference to someone who is feeling isolated and stuck in a rut.”

#letstalk