NESC staff get mental health boost

Members of the marketing and corporate communications team at NESC sharing the Mental Health Matters message.
Members of the marketing and corporate communications team at NESC sharing the Mental Health Matters message.

Recognising the significance of mental wellness to overall health, the NESC hosted its inaugural mental health and wellness week themed, My Mind Matters.

Staff participated in webinars facilitated by mental health experts and practitioners from PAHO/WHO, the UWI and the Ministry of Health. They received advice on how to employ protective factors to build their resilience, practise self-care, manage grief and loss, and establish work-life balance as well as insight on symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress, said a media release.

From this training it is hoped that the staff would be able to recognise those symptoms in themselves and their colleagues, and seek treatment, should those symptoms show up.

Kern Dass, NESC president was one of the key champions of the mental health and wellness initiative. “Mental health is a pivotal discussion of the day. The world is feeling the impact of economic shocks and personal losses due to covid19, and the toll can be heavy,” Dass said in the release.

Other highlights of the week included on-site health screening at the NESC’s Tobago campus and Woodford Lodge, Chaguanas Campus, conducted by the Tobago Regional Health Authority and the Diabetes Association. The TT Cancer Society also delivered lectures on the early detection of cancers in men and women, the release said.

As gardening offers the dual benefits of relaxation and the joy of producing one’s own food, all staff received starter seedling kits containing ochroes, green seasonings, pat choi, melongene and others, courtesy the SURE Foundation. Staff also received wellness packages donated by Hadco, Universal Foods, Holiday Snacks, Bermudez, Old Mac Agro Supplies Ltd, SuperPharm, Massy Distribution, Coca Cola, Nutrimix, Namdevco and Central Athletic Club Ltd.

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