Children need to be encouraged to say how they feel mentally and emotionally, the acting CEO at the Richmond Foundation said on Tuesday. 

“Our children know the symptoms of a cold; we hear them say how they have a sore throat or a blocked nose,” Daniela Calleja Bitar said. “Now we need to get to the point where our children can speak about what they feel emotionally," she told a conference to mark World Mental Health Day.

‘Hygeia: A conference on Mental Wellness’ was held at Xara Lodge, Rabat. Calleja Bitar sat on a panel titled ‘Mental Wellness is a Human Right’ led by Paulann Grech, a professor at the Faculty of Health Science at the University of Malta, along with Domenic Degiorgio, a specialist and personal trainer and Rachael Hollwey, founder of Walk & Talk and Mariella Porter a registered nutritionist. 

She said that while there are numerous initiatives at schools to teach children the importance of proper nutrition and physical exercise, there needs to be more focus on learning how to speak about mental health. 

The mother of a 16-year-old, Calleja Bitar recalled how once her son’s school called her about something her son had said which raised a teacher's concern.

“At the time he was nine years old and about to sit for school exams. They called me because he said he was feeling anxious, and the school was concerned that he was not expressing himself like other children his age. I brought him up to be able to express himself, and that is what he was doing.”

Focusing on the analogy with a common cold, Calleja Bitar said that if one didn't take care of a cold straight away it could become worse over time. 

Speaking freely on mental health means earlier help when needed

“We have seen that it can take someone four to 10 years to seek help for depression. Normalising mental health talk can mean that it doesn’t take that long before someone seeks help.”

Mariella Porter reflected on how in today’s hectic world, many people took for granted the little things that could make a difference to someone’s day. Mental health should not be dismissed, she insisted. 

“We are like a big jigsaw puzzle, made up of different pieces and if one part of the puzzle is missing then we cannot be the best version of ourselves.” 

Dominic Degiorgio said focusing on one’s mental health was not an ‘overnight’ job. 

“There is a daily commitment to ensure that we have a healthy mindset. Just as we focus on our physical wellbeing and put in the time to exercise, we must also have a mental health workout, where we focus on having a good mindset.”

He recalled how he worked in the financial sector for 27 years and there was always a push, from both him and other employees to overwork. 

“You feel bad when you arrive to work on time, and you feel bad if you leave on time,” he said, recalling how he would arrive at work an hour earlier and spend countless lunch breaks working at his desk.

Calleja Bitar said that it was important that employers had a mentally healthy workforce, as a healthy workforce was a more productive one.

“At one point in time, someone in the office is not going to be okay, and if we do not work towards prevention and helping that individual, not only are we doing a disservice to society but also to the people we lead and should be taking care of,” she added. 

Hollwey said it shocked her when people glamorised working overtime.

“There were people I spoke to who treated their overtime hours like trophies, showing how hardworking they are,” she said. 

“We really need to rethink this idea that people need to work during their break to be more productive or clock in more hours.”

 I’m a leader but not a mental health expert

Another discussion ‘Leadership overwhelm- how it impacts leaders, and how leaders impact managers’ focused on the pressures leaders face every day, and how they tackle their own problems while dealing with the company’s. 

The second panel discussed the way leaders deal with their mental health and the mental health of their employees. Photo: Giulia Magri

When asked what was done when employees express their need for mental health, Josh O’Cock. CEO at Growth Gurus, spoke about the fine-line managers face when giving advice. 

“At my company, we provide employees with tokens for psychological help and therapy,” he said. 

“We are leaders but not mental health leaders, and we need to be careful so as not to give the wrong advice to someone. I know there are people who have spent their lives studying so as to be able to provide advice to people, I’m not in that position myself.”

Podcaster and producer Jon Mallia echoed a similar statement. 

“I have had experiences of substance abuse and difficult moments, and many people would ask me for advice if they were experiencing something similar, but I always tell them it’s important that they seek help,” he said.