Mental Health Awareness Week

“How would you know if you’re burning out?”

“Ask Google or Chat GPT this same question and the answers will likely be; headaches, lack of sleep, irritability, social withdrawal etc, all the symptoms you’ve heard a hundred times before. It’s a reasonable starting point, but:

What are your unique red flags? (Not the ones you’d find in a generic online search)

I have about a dozen. I’ll give you two examples.

1. The state of my hands.
That’s where it shows for me. I’m a picker by nature. I’m mostly on top of it, but when I’m stressed, my nails become bitten down and can bleed. It becomes obvious to me, and it would to you if you were my colleague.
2. I could murder a beer, but it’s only Tuesday.
I only drink at weekends. I LOVE wine and beer but my liver does not, so I have firm boundaries established. I no longer think much about wine/beer from Monday to Thursday but if I’m hankering after a wine/beer and it’s only Monday or Tuesday, it’s a red flag for me.

What are your unique burnout red flags?

What about your colleagues? What are their red flags?

Let’s talk in our teams about our red flags, so if your colleagues thought they saw one of your flags flapping in the wind, they’d reference it and ask if you’re ok.”

Andrew is a CPD accredited and TED speaker, podcaster, award-winning campaigner and soon-to-be-author, leading in his work on men’s mental health, also delivering wider wellbeing talks on burnout and work-life balance.

Read Andrew’s story and explore keynote speeches.

“How can we support mental health at work without making it just another HR checkbox?”

“People ask me this a lot, especially leaders lost in the noise of feel-good initiatives that change nothing. The truth is, mental health at work is not posters or wellness days. It starts with seeing the whole person and their circumstances: bias faced by women, ethnic minorities or neurodivergent team members to mention some, or caregivers burning out quietly… but leaders can only do that by being intentional about it.

Train leaders for “whole-person check-ins.” Not vague “How are you?” They need to be asking: “What support do you need now?” Listening, following up monthly, tracking patterns, adjusting workloads, deadlines. A lot of the time small tweaks that cost very little to the company make a massive difference.

But no one-size-fits-all; every company has to tailor what mental health support looks like for them by listening to their very unique team. This builds trust and burnout falls. Organisations gain retention, creativity, and productivity.

Leaders, start with one real check-in where vulnerability is allowed.”

Virginia Mendez is a Spanish author, speaker, consultant, and entrepreneur living in Northern Ireland. She is the co-founder of The Feminist Shop, an award-winning ethical business dedicated to promoting feminism and challenging gender stereotypes.

Read Virginia’s story and explore keynote speeches.

“Resilience is about recharging – not enduring”

“Sadly, resilience is often mis-understood and seen as a toxic trait, rather than a helpful one. Sometimes I’ve had speaking clients push back on the word ‘resilience’ because it’s used to brush over poor workplace cultures, unrealistic demands and pressure – where the blame is shifted to the individual not being resilient enough, rather than the environment.

Instead, I reframe resilience as ‘recharging’ instead of ‘enduring’. It’s understanding that our capacity to endure and keep on pushing when the chips are down isn’t sustainable for long without looking after our wellbeing too.

Ever noticed yourself snapping, getting emotional or making mistakes after a poor night’s sleep or working overtime? We might think we don’t have time to stop and take breaks, but just a few minutes can calm the nervous system and stop us reacting to things, and save losing a lot more time when we reach the point of burnout.”

Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, ICF-trained coach, author, and charity founder from Chester. No stranger to adversity, Alex has overcome more than most will in a lifetime – including surviving the two biggest disasters in Mount Everest history as a teenager. His greatest challenges have been even closer to home: living with epilepsy, stammering, bullying, and mental ill health since childhood.

Read Alex’s story and explore keynote speeches.

“Allow time for different thinking styles”

“Quieter team members – the ones who need to think and reflect before making decisions – get highly stressed when they feel pressed into making decisions before they are ready.

When this happens on a regular basis they bring that stress into work each day in anticipation of the same thing happening again and again. Unchecked, this can lead to burnout.

The greatest gift you can give a quiet/reflective person is time. To prepare, to reflect and to not have to rush decisions.

If you don’t give the time, hasty decisions get made. Often those decisions need to be revisited, creating misunderstandings that need extra time to resolve. There is a tangible cost to this.

If you truly want to create a healthier work environment all round, allow the time that is required to properly include all thinking styles and bring everyone’s strengths into the room – not just the loudest and fastest responses.

To be specific, add extra prep time for meetings, e.g. send Agendas well in advance. Use sound facilitation techniques – it’s good to train up some facilitators. Last but not least, don’t force rapid decision making.”

Pete Mosley is the author of ‘A Leader’s Guide to working with Quiet People’ (2025), ‘A Quiet Person’s Guide’ (2023) and ‘The Art of Shouting Quietly’ (2016). His specialism is in working with introverts, quiet and shy people and those who lead and manage them, bringing them into alignment.

Read Pete’s story and explore keynote speeches.

“Neurodivergent conditions are a difference, not a disease”

“People frequently conflate neurodiversity and mental health. Neurodivergent conditions are a difference, not a disease and don’t need curing.

Mental health issues should be treated as best we can: no-one deserves to live a life where they’re always depressed or anxious.

A better way to look at this is “mental diversity” where we understand everyone is different and there is no normal brain. Some of these differences are part of who we are – such as amazing pattern recognition or an intolerance to the smell of Kieran’s body spray. And some fluctuate, like how well we cope with stressors or our baseline mood. All need to be supported.”

Rachel Morgan-Trimmer is an internationally-renowned neurodiversity consultant. She trains companies to be more inclusive to neurodivergent people, including autistics, dyslexics, dyspraxics, dyscalculics and those with ADHD.

Read Rachel’s story and explore keynote speeches.

“Self care is not self indulgence”

“Too many people lie to themselves and say they don’t have time for self care. But in my experience, if you don’t make the time, life has a funny way of taking it from you anyway. Like many people I figured this out by getting it wrong; I was leading 120 people on combat operations. It was Christmas. My son was 18 months old. Both me and his father were deployed, something I dubbed “Operation Orphan.” I thought I’d soldier through but I know I was brittle and defensive and the cracks showed in the way I interacted my team (earning myself the nickname Scarah).

Now I know that Self awareness, Self care and Self leadership are NOT acts of self indulgence. They are survival skills that are essential in the modern world not just for our sake but for everyone around us.

My top self care tip: Allow time to decompress after work. It’s not just children that need wind-down routines, grown-ups need it too. Read a book, drink a cup of herbal tea, have a bath; whatever it is that helps you change down a gear. Then sleep – sleep is a mental health turbocharger.”

After graduating from Cambridge University, Sarah followed her dream to become an RAF helicopter pilot and Squadron leader. She led on operational combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. During her experiences both at home and at war, she learnt that tough capable people don’t always feel as strong as they look.

Read Sarah’s story and explore keynote speeches.

What next?

Mental Health Awareness Week is important – but lasting change comes from the conversations, behaviours and leadership practices that continue long after the week ends. Creating psychologically safe, supportive workplaces requires ongoing commitment, practical action and leaders who are equipped to respond with confidence and empathy.

At Mix, we work with organisations to deliver engaging talks, leadership development and workplace training focused on mental health, inclusion, psychological safety and wellbeing at work. Whether you’re looking for a speaker for an upcoming event, support for managers and leaders, or a longer-term culture and wellbeing strategy, we can help you create meaningful and sustainable change. Get in touch to find out more.