Break the Silence

This year’s ACTNow campaign focuses on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The campaign kicks off in week one with a series of stories called Break the Silence. These stories are from individuals across the profession who are keen to share their personal mental health and wellbeing journeys.

Through these stories, our aim is to open up conversations, aid understanding, expose barriers and begin to address workplace culture issues in order to remove the stigma associated with mental health in pharmacy. By showcasing the stories of individuals from across the sector – from those now in senior leadership and managerial positions, and from individuals of all ages and backgrounds – we hope to begin to break down some of the barriers that exist around the subject and to open up healthy dialogues in the workplace.

Across the week we’ll be highlighting the experiences of:

• Aamer Safdar – who opens up about his own work related stress and anxiety and his journey through the tough times to build himself back up.
• Amandeep Doll – who shares her experience of high-functioning anxiety and depression and her tips on how to manage the condition.
• Chi Huynh – who shares the struggles he’s had with mental health and anxiety over the course of his career as a university lecturer, and how he’s dealing with them.
• Elsy Gomez Campos – who reflects on her struggles with mental health caused by a challenging and unsupportive work environment.
• Helena Young – who shares her story of experiencing high anxiety and burnout and touches on the tools and techniques that helped her get through it.
• Kathryn Murray – who shares her struggles with depression brought on by menopause, and advice on how pharmacy managers can support anyone going through something similar.

You can follow the discussion throughout the week on our social media platforms and by using the hashtag #BreakTheSilence.