How I tackled Mental Health and a guide for others. Contact me @JWozniak16

1. Mental Health - My Story
by John Wozniak
Finding A Way Back
@JWozniak16
All images licensed by AdobeStock and the author

3. Mental health affects 1-in-4

4. it is indiscriminate…

5. it is widely misunderstood…

6. it is a subject that is often
dismissed within society

7. I have a moral obligation to tell
my story, to give hope to others

8. Mental health severely
affected me…..

9. Why?

10. No specific cause….

11. Professional diagnosis;
General Anxiety Disorder
Moderate to Severe Depression

12. Recovery
It took time, effort….
……and huge amounts of
COURAGE
..but it started with…….

13. 1. Self acknowledgement…
that things weren't right

14. My symptoms of mental health;
Unable to sleep
Paranoia
Lack of confidence
Unable to switch off
Mistrust of others
Lack of motivation
Observations from my line manager

15. 2. Having the courage to
seek professional help

16. was a…

17. huge step…

18. it was a two-way path to
recovery…

19. …me working with the mental
health professionals and vice
versa…

20. …that evolved in to a four-
way process over time

21. Me
Family&friends
Work
Professional health care
Cohesion through talking

22. was it easy?

23. NO!

24. The early stages after
diagnosis

25. …medication supplemented
weekly appointments with my
practitioner…

26. How did I feel?…

27. confused and
disorientated…

28. tired…

29. insecure…

30. relieved that I had been
diagnosed…

31. time became a
healer but…

32. I needed to act upon what I had
been taught during my
mental health sessions…

33. listening to audio books
helped me to stay calm…

34. anxiety spikes and panic
attacks were frequent…

35. high intensity
CV workouts
aided in burning
off anxiety
spikes…

36. the needs of my
dog encouraged
me to leave the
house and get
some fresh air…

37. Getting back to work…

38. was enormously difficult…

39. occupational health intervened with a
gradual get-back-to-work programme,
ranging from 4 hours a week to full-time
employment…

40. the senior executives gave me space and
time to recover, they deserve credit, not
every employee gets that kind of support…

41. 3. Pressing on with recovery

42. led to an urge in to doing
something productive…

44. as my concentration levels
returned…

45. I was able to focus on and digest
short pieces of information, such
as text messages…

46. that soon evolved into
reading sports articles…

47. which eventually increased
my motivation…

48. to writing for
footballnation.com…

49. and launching my own blog
@inthestandsport…

50. the blog created a voice not just
for me, but for other sports
fans…

51. the community spanned from
North America to Australia…

52. it provided me and the team
with a sense of achievement…

53. 4. Signs of improvement

54. As my confidence started to return
I began to attend public events such
as the NFL International Series
(right), London and the 2014 edition
of the Tour de France (above).

55. my work hours increased
until in the Summer of 2014…

56. when mental health services
declared me fit for full-time
employment…

57. during my rehabilitation I never
once reached for the bottle…

58. life seemed difficult enough, and
having to nurse a hangover was
out of the question…

59. but…

60. the journey didn't end
there…

61. I have a constant battle with
trying to keep my mind healthy…

62. my urge and desire to learn
grew and grew…

63. I enrolled with the
University of Northampton..

64. my MBA Dissertation gave me
a huge confidence boost…

65. learning and education proved to
be a healer for me, it can be for
others…

66. and this is just the
beginning…

67. Will I ever be free from
mental health issues?

68. of course not…

69. 5. Helping others

70. I have publicly addressed my
story on separate occasions,
with more to follow…

71. I have been approached by work colleagues
for guidance in ways to overcome their
respective mental health issues…

72. it is not about sympathy…

73. it is about helping others to
overcome their battle with
mental health…

74. it is about promoting a positive
culture in the work place…

75. mental health stigmas are
not welcome in society…

76. Summary
• Acknowledge the problem
• Seek help
• Work with professionals
• Stay focussed
• Tackle the issues head on
• Help others

77. Look out for my next
SlideShare -
Tips for Business Leaders to
promoting a positive mental
health culture in the
workplace…

78. thank you for reading,
please share this SlideShare
It is time to help others
@JWozniak16