Mental Health Awareness Week 2023: 5 stories in 5 days, Mollie Cross

Written by Mollie Cross, Talent Partner

I have had GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) for a good number of years now - everyone has their own experience with it, and I’m not going to go too much into the specifics of mine in this post (the NHS page is linked here if you'd like a more high-level overview though!)

Thanks to some great therapists, other wonderfully supportive people in my life, and a lot of determination, I’ve learnt how to keep it at a manageable level most of the time (I’m always learning really...it’s a work in progress!)

I’m also lucky enough to work for a company like Instant Impact who are as inclusive and supportive a company as I think you could get.

I wanted to share some pointers for how I like to be supported at work with my GAD, in order to hopefully raise some awareness & get you thinking about how you can support your own colleagues as well. Remember that everyone is different – really listening to what people need individually is always best!

So here goes...

• Meeting agendas! If you invite me to a meeting (especially if it’s last minute or ‘out of the blue’), provide me with a meeting agenda. If an agenda isn’t quite the right fit, send me a quick message with an overview of what I can expect & what my role in the meeting will be. This will take you 30 seconds, and save me a fair amount of worry! Plus I think it’s good practice GAD or otherwise...

• Detail! Of course it’s important to be able to handle levels of ambiguity, especially in the world of recruitment (and in life in general hey?), but I always appreciate detail wherever possible. I’m a pretty detail-oriented person generally, and clear & informative updates wherever they make sense go a long way in helping me manage my GAD.

• Have patience! If I'm having a ‘bad GAD day’, have patience with me if I seem to be processing what you’re telling me more slowly/need something repeating. GAD can make it harder to concentrate & process information. Patience goes a long way in helping me get back to my usual focussed, quick-thinking self!