Mental Wellbeing with Grads in Games is a monthly article that promotes positive mental wellbeing for students and industry professionals – This includes advice, guidance and highlighting those in the industry that are taking active steps to make their working environment a safer space.

The GiG team is happy to be back after the Holiday break however post Christmas/Holidays can bring a lot of negative feelings. There’s been lots of talk on social media about the January Blues & #BlueMonday therefore this month seems like an good chance to discuss depression and helping those who suffer from it.

Like most mental health, depression can be completely invisible from an outsiders perspective. However, it can be an intense and distressing experience for someone having symptoms such as low mood, tearfulness and social withdrawal.

So how can you best help someone struggling with depression?

One of the key facts that is often brought up about depression is the struggle to talk about it – Understandably, opening up about your mental health can be incredibly scary but if someone else can open up the conversation and be supportive it makes it a lot easier. Letting someone know they can feel safe opening up about what they are experiencing can be a positive step! 

Mind also has a great resource discussing how to help someone seeking help for depression. It highlights that you can’t force anyone to get help if they don’t want it but it’s important to let them know that it’s okay to ask for help and that it is out there.  

Depression is incredibly common and it can mean a lot that someone is there to listen – there are multiple support resources that are worth highlighting including these previously mentioned articles from Mind. I also found an article on 10 ways you can help a friend with depression that you can access here. 

This month we are running a Stress and Time management workshop with all our Student Ambassadors as most of them will be juggling their project along with their final year at University and we want to make sure that they have the toolkit needed to be able to manage all the various work going on! If you are an ambassador you can still sign up through an e-mail link! 

Grads in Games is also featured on Safe in Our World this week with an article on What Remains of Edith and how it is a powerful meditation on the grieving process. you can check that out – here!

Wellbeing Spotlight – Mediatonic

The folks over at Mediatonic are a fantastic example of a studio that is actively including wellbeing as part of their everyday! This includes having a Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing support page on their company Intranet. It has links to great support websites like  CALM, MIND and Samaritans as well as helpful videos.

Furthermore, staff will have the chance to talk to the teams’ many Mental Health First Aiders as part of their weekly afternoon ‘time to talk’ session. These sessions are a chance for employees to voice any concerns or worries that they have.

Covid also brought about implementing two weekly meditation sessions that are optional for employees to attend – this is a great way to practice mindfulness within the workplace!

Mediatonic have got a Personal Assistance Program for employees. They can get the emotional, financial and legal support they need through some available resources, confidentially and at no cost for the employee.

Mediatonic’s varied support for staff showcases the studio’s dedication to putting mental wellbeing at the forefront of what they do and highlights what a great workplace it is.

We hope all our readers look after themselves this January –  Remember to look out for your freinds and Family that are struggling.

Stay Safe,

The Grads in Games Team