A look back at our special focus on mental health awareness this May
May marks both mental health awareness month and mental health awareness week across the world, and this month at Firesprite we took this opportunity to focus a special emphasis on the importance of mental health awareness and wellbeing. Our fantastic People Engagement team packed out a month-long calendar of events and initiatives for all our sprites to help break stigmas and build awareness.
The theme of Mental Health Awareness week this year here in the UK was loneliness. A deeply painful experience which can impact us all; loneliness is a particularly poignant topic in today’s remote working world. With that in mind, we held special breakfast clubs and more weekly sessions of our classic Firesprite coffee clubs all throughout May, to give our sprites extra opportunities to just hang out and spend time together!
We explored the topic of loneliness further in a mental health awareness workshop held by our good friends Rosie and Sarah of Safe in our World. This insightful workshop gave our studio an introduction to the current state of mental health in UK gaming, the origins of Safe in our World, and an overview of the invaluable content and resources that the charity provide. We learned about the strong link between feeling lonely and strain upon mental health, and were given so many useful tips on how to support ourselves when feeling lonely. We also explored some of the Safe in our World community’s favourite go-to games to combat loneliness, support mental wellbeing and stay connected whilst apart; something Firesprite People Engagement Manager, Chloe Sinclair, explored further with Rosie in our studio podcast:
“This month, I had the opportunity to interview Rosie Taylor, Communications Officer & Community Manager with our Level Up Mental Health partner, Safe in Our World, for our in-house Firesprite podcast. We had the opportunity to talk about everything from how wellbeing contributes to mental health, ways to positively impact your day, our favourite comfort games, and much more! Understanding the importance of being able to confidentially talk about mental health will help communities continue to break down the stigma and find additional means of support.”
A massive thank you to Chloe who shared additional resources with our studio on combating loneliness, starting conversations, breaking stigmas and understanding mental wellbeing in our weekly studio newsletters.
A special thank you too to all of these 10 compassionate sprites who undertook training this month on mental health awareness and held a special Time to Talk session for our studio, offering a safe space for an open discussion on mental health.
During their training with MFHA England, our Mental Health Champions gained an understanding of what mental health is, and how we can challenge stigma. They explored common mental health issues and undertook an introduction into looking after their own mental health and maintaining wellbeing.
Our Mental Health First Aiders undertook additional training with Mind Fitness to learn how to support good mental health at our studio. They explored how to identity signs of mental distress, how to nurture a supportive environment and an action plan to help those in need.
After completing their courses, these sprites had the knowledge and confidence to support anyone at Firesprite who may be be experiencing mental health issues, or who are simply looking to better understand mental health.
Thank you so much to these supportive sprites for offering our studio a source of advice and understanding, and for their commitment to help us create a safe environment for all at Firesprite by being able to provide appropriate means of support, resources, and guidance.
