Christmas can affect our mental health in lots of different ways. This could be if Christmas is part of your life, or if it’s happening around you. It’s a time of year that often puts extra pressure on us.

Christmas could affect your mental health if you wish you didn’t have to deal with Christmas or find it stressful because of other events in your life or feel alone or left out because everyone else seems happy when you’re not.

If you feel like you are struggling, or you know someone who is, read on…

The one Million Lives campaign

One Million Lives (OML) is a free mental health check developed by Jacobs and clinical psychologists to help you understand how you’re currently coping and provide suggestions for building resiliency. Checking in is helpful even if you feel well – the earlier you check, the earlier you can make changes to stay well.

The goal of OML is to create a ripple effect across the globe, where over one million people are inspired to complete a mental health check-in. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional care. If you are struggling or suspect you are suffering from any mental health or other medical conditions, please seek immediate help from your doctor, local health service, our Cemex Employee Assistance Programme or one of the organisations listed here.

The check-in tool HERE is a web-based application and can be accessed through all standard web browsers on computers or mobile devices at https://www.oml.world. You can create an anonymised account, and once logged in can opt to take a quick or full check-in. You will be asked a series of questions about your mental health to assess how you are currently coping. Once the check-in is complete, you will be able to view your results and explore suggestions for how to improve your mental health and wellbeing.

You can either do a full check-in, or a short one, or both. The quick check-in is comprised of five quick daily questions to help you get a bearing on key wellbeing indicators. The full check-in takes 10-15 minutes and assesses:

• Current mental health (e.g. distress levels).
• Early warning signs of mental health (e.g. low resilience and not bouncing back from setbacks).
• Risk indicators (e.g. perfectionism, coping, or social isolation).

Find out more about OML HERE

If you need immediate support please use our poster with links to many support organisations or call our Cemex Employee Assistance on 0808 168 2143.

You can find our Mental Health Resources poster at the end of this document and on the UK News download page HERE.