Celebrants, Covid-19 and mental health: A greater impact than we realise

This weekend gone, the world was reminded to stop and pause and remember the importance of recognising and supporting mental health via World Mental Health day on Saturday 10th October.

As essential as such days are, as with any day that highlights an important cause, the cause itself goes far beyond its designated day of recognition, and is something which should be prominent in our thoughts and actions as much as possible.

People who live with mental health issues and tendencies are acutely aware of the impact that their suffering brings to them. There are people who are living with mental health challenges every single day, some with very little support and others who are incredibly supported.

There are people who we know, who have mental health tendencies which we do not know of. People who are keeping their struggles quiet, for whatever reasons and doing what they can to get better, whether that's by themselves or with professional support.

There are people out there who may be struggling mentally but not ready to face the fact that they are or perhaps they're not sure that what it is they're feeling would be considered a mental health issue.

According to many different mental health charities, this year because of Covid-19, and the scale of the deep impact that it has had on the world, there will be people who perhaps before had never considered themselves having had a mental health issue, now recognising that their mental health is or has suffered. And that more people than ever before will find themselves/have found themselves in this situation.

For those of us in the wedding industry in particular, the impact that Covid-19 has had on the industry is without doubt taking its toll on many people. More than what we probably realise.

The loss of clients, of income, of livelihood, of independence, of financial security, of family and client relationships, of the day-to-day doing of what one loves. The stress of these losses and the feeling of helplessness with the situation is causing so much mental anguish and distress for people. The challenge of trying to appear positive for couples and clients when inside you feel anything but positive and the sheer mental exhaustion in having to do this, is taking its toll.

These feelings and more are plunging people, many of whom have never considered themselves to have had mental health challenges, into the realms of depression and other mental health issues.

If you are someone who is feeling like this, I hope that you are getting the help that you need, or at least thinking about it. I hope that you know it's okay to feel how you do and that there is help out there for you if you want it. That there are people who will listen and help, who can listen and help.

I also hope that you know that you're not alone. We take comfort in knowing that there are others who feel like we do, so do trust that there are. Many of us are on mental health rollercoasters. Some going higher and lower, some faster and slower, but we're all on the same ride, regardless.

In the coming months I want to start sharing more tips and advice and features from mental health experts and those who have had first hand experiences of mental health challenges and what they've done to get the help they need, especially from those within our working community.

What more would you like to see inside our Celebrants Collective Facebook community? What more could you do with? What could you do without? As a starting point, I've really enjoyed watching this Ted Talk on why we need to practice emotional first aid.

Let's start a much-needed conversation...