Mental Health Awareness Month- What did we learn?
To many, May marks a month of bringing awareness to mental health and its sometimes-invisible impact to so many around us. For those in events, May also marks a month that challenges the mental health and balance of new and seasoned professionals alike. Spring is peak season for events of all shapes and sizes- conferences, weddings, incentives, galas, and dinners. You’d be hard pressed to find an event planner that doesn’t spend most of their winter months bracing for spring. The adrenaline of event execution, all the details finally coming together, back-to-back travel, Murphy’s Law- it’s what we love!
But conflicting emotions can co-exist. You can love something, and it can still stress you the heck out! You can love something, and still wake up at 2am wondering if you actually hit send on that email to confirm the need for an additional breakout room on day 2.
There is something to be learned about how we as individuals navigate the ebbs and flows of the industry. As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, what have we learned?
Balance is a Season: Balance will look different day to day, week to week, month to month. The routines and non-negotiables that create balance in our lives may change depending on the circumstances and priorities in front of us. Doing the work to figure out what those are and when they truly provide a sense of balance is a personal journey that is not a one size fits all solution.
Sleep, Nutrition, & Movement are Foundational Skills: Yes, skills! We don’t commonly think about them that way, but they are! We learned the importance of these things in 6th grade health class…and have had to re-learn them every year since! We’ve learned that when we lose sight of putting these skills into best practice, it greatly impacts our ability to have the energy to maintain or address our personal mental health.
Keep Talking About It: Our Director of Customer Success, Chrissy Parsons recently participated in a keynote panel session at the Northwest Event Show where long-time event professionals shared their personal journeys with burnout, finding balance, and prioritizing their mental health. The engagement and response from that session was overwhelming and showcased how important these conversations are in an industry where burnout is a norm and balance is a luxury. Open and honest conversations with each other are incredibly impactful and should be a constant.
We know that mental health is more than a hot topic and a social media post in May. It’s a life-long endeavor to understand, maintain, and improve. Being aware of it changes everything from the benefits we provide to employees all the way down to how and when we schedule meetings with each other on a daily basis.
It’s hard work, it’s ugly, it’s vulnerable, and wildly rewarding. We are proud to be surrounded by so many passionate event planners on their own personal mental health journeys and would be excited to connect and learn more about how you and your teams are navigating it all.