During Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW), we often look for grand gestures of wellness, but the true foundations of resilience are often built in the quiet, challenging moments of our everyday lives. Today, we are spotlighting Hannah Brockett, one of our Operational Delivery Managers (ODM) in Bedford. She started her journey with HUC as a Health Advisor in 2023 and quickly progressed to a Coach. “In this role I realised how much I enjoyed supporting my colleagues, so when the ODM role was advertised in January 2025 I decided to go for it!”
Many of us only think about mental health when something doesn’t feel right. But for Hannah, there wasn’t a particular moment that pushed her to start paying attention to it. Like everyone, she had moments of strength and weakness and built methods in her life that helped her through those more trying times. She said, “I realised in my early 30’s that I could take some control of my mental health, that small changes in my habits could have a real impact on my overall wellbeing.” So, when later on Hannah was met with challenges, mental health was already a priority, and she was armed with the tools she needed to be the best person for herself and her family.
This year, the theme for MHAW is ‘Take Action.” People often know what they should do but don’t do it. When asked what she thinks the biggest hurdle is when it comes to take action, Hannah said, “That it’s hard. It’s hard to do what is best for yourself when all you want to do is crawl back into our shell. I find breaking it down into tiny little steps helps. Don’t focus on the next step until you have completed the first and feel ready for the next.”
“If the goal is to go for a walk in the fresh air, the first step is to get out of bed. Second, get dressed, then drink water, put on your shoes, leave the house, get to the end of the road, and so on. When we break it down to small achievements, we can see the progress we are making.”
In a fast-paced environment like HUC, it’s important to take moments to reset and look after yourself. Hannah stresses the importance of taking time to check in with yourself and those around you. “It’s about building routines that support resilience both actively in the work environment, in the moment and after you have finished your shift, finding ways to release the tension. Just as importantly, it is about checking in on others too.”
This Mental Health Awareness Week, it’s important to remember that mental health is a fundamental part of our physical health.
“I think mental health is like any other health and is often taken for granted until we are struggling. It’s only then, we realise how lucky we are when we are well and how vulnerable we all are when we are not.”