SPECIAL REPORT MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Workplace pressures and fear of company closure can cause stress
Michelle Laverick, head of
sales, marketing and membership at HF Holidays and vice-chair of the Association of Women Travel Executives, has been through the experience. She says redundancy in particular can have “a massive effect”, even if the reason “is no reflection of the work they’ve been doing”. Also, as the travel industry is a
social one, many people’s social lives are tied to work, points out Laverick. “If you do get made redundant,
your link to the travel industry gets severed and that’s when people feel can very insecure about themselves,” she adds.
Abta LifeLine A good proportion of calls made to industry charity Abta LifeLine are for mental health reasons, according to director Trudie Clements. LifeLine has received an
unprecedented number of calls since the Thomas Cook collapse, with more than 900 applications for help. Most people have been provided with food vouchers. “People who worked for the
company for 40-odd years, all of a
travelweekly.co.uk
sudden are finding themselves out of work, and that’s devastating,” says Clements. “It’s had a huge effect on their confidence and self-esteem” and now there’s “pressure to find a job”. One of the ways Freedom
Travel Group members have been finding solace is through a Facebook group set up by members for the community. Here, they have been able to share information, and help and support each other. “I don’t know how I would’ve
coped without the support group,” says Nassa. Mitchell says talking about how
they were feeling had been crucial for many members of the group. “One of the things we said to
members is don’t suffer in silence,” he says. “We’re all going through the same thing; we should all talk to each other.”
CONTRIBUTE If you would like to contribute in any way to T
ravel Weekly’s
Mental Health Matters series, email
natalie.marsh@
travelweekly.co.uk
MY STORY “
Brian Young G Adventures
In 2014, we had to put [bed bank and online
retailer] On Holiday Group into administration. In the build-up, I got to the point where I couldn’t sleep at night, or I would wake up in the night panicking about what was going to happen. I knew we were about to put a
company into administration, but at the same time I was trying to cope myself with all the anxiety it was creating for me on a personal level. My mind didn’t stop. It
was constantly thinking, and you get to the point where you’re
overthinking. In the end, I went to speak to somebody about what I was going through. Sometimes it’s easier to go to an independent person. They don’t know you; they can’t judge you; they just help you cope with what you’re going through. When I went to try and
understand my anxiety and panic attacks, the bit that worked for me was the coping mechanisms. You have to put them into play,
and I learnt to discipline myself to anticipate when anxiety was coming, and then how to cope with it using the coping mechanisms I was taught. This was seven years ago, and
I don’t suffer with anxiety or panic attacks any more. Every now and again I feel there’s something happening, and it comes into my mind, but I can shut it down quickly now. I’ve learnt how to cope with it.
6 FEBRUARY 2020
17
PICTURES: Shutterstock
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