Truth or Myth?: A formal diagnosis is not needed to access mental health support

This is the truth! Mental health issues can be complex and vary widely in severity. It may not always be clear if you or your employees are suffering from mental health issues but there are plenty of ways to find out. As long as your employees are aware of the symptoms of mental health issues, and feel that they are suffering from any of them they are qualified to seek professional help.

If you are worried that you may have minor or even major mental health worries, the NHS have an online ‘mood indicator’ which asks questions on common causes and symptoms of stress or depression. It then gives you a possible diagnosis and severity rating with information on the next steps you should take to gain help or advice.

No matter if your worries come from work or home, there are several government schemes which allow anybody to apply for free and impartial advice on how to cope. The levels of intervention vary scheme by scheme and you can either get in contact via self-referral or be referred by a GP.

The Access to Work Scheme aims specifically to get those suffering from mental health issues, back to work. For full details of the scheme, see our previous article here. As with most government led schemes, no formal medical diagnosis is required. You qualify for help as long as your mental health worries are either causing absence from work or making it difficult to cope daily.

Or, if your employees would like someone to talk to informally before deciding on a course of action, the Mental Health Helplines Partnership, lists all helplines available and contact details for further advice and help. The NHS wellbeing pages also list many help lines/ help centres and fact sheets for positive mental health and wellbeing.

It is best to get help as early as possible so even if you feel you are suffering from only a few symptoms of stress or depression it is best to research your options. The Help Guide.org has listed the most common symptoms which you can see here.

If your company needs to provide more for your employees in terms of mental health support, Honeydew Health can provide advice and arrange for a full range of occupational health partnerships and services.