“Hero Complex” is a phrase so casualised by society that its meaning seems somewhat lost.
Surely, being the Hero is something we should strive towards?
Can the very nature of helping others have negative side effects?
Indeed, as a society we should strive towards helping others; kindness is something we all could supply more of. The challenge lies when aiding others we have a tendency to forget the importance of boundaries.
Deem this controversial, but I believe that we need to understand how we can’t help people for us to be able to offer the correct help to others. In a conversation that occurred between myself and Nick Elston[1], we discussed the importance of Safeguarding for not only ourselves but for businesses alike. Sometimes the best of intentions can have damaging side effects without us even knowing. For context, Nick is a leading Inspirational Speaker on Lived Experience of Mental Health. Our conversation was insightful for both parties; we addressed the importance for smaller businesses to understand and appreciate how to function safely when discussing topics such as mental health and wellbeing, in a workplace that might not have a designated department for such things.
How do we Safeguard?
There is no linear way of how, as individuals, we can do this. If there was then it would certainly make this an easier task to complete.
At its core, safeguarding is centred around protecting ourselves and others. We are not always able to understand what our mental capacity can handle, but adding barriers into our daily practices allows for us to deal with issues and ideas in the safest way possible. In a professional environment, it is important for us to understand what we can and cannot do for someone.
Something that you can do within your business is to navigate your employees to the correct organisation or person if you believe you are unqualified to talk about the topic being bought to you such as grief, gender identity and trauma. If you are aware that you know nothing of this topic then the kindest thing you can do in this situation is deliver guidance of places that can help. The key is to listen; understand what is being said and evaluate what help is needed. We do not always have solutions even if we acquire all the good will in the world, so we need to action and demonstrate the skill of saying “I am not the best person to help with this, but I will help you find who is”.
The intersectionality between mental health and personal development is closer than we think. It is time for us to be more aware of our capabilities in the safest way we can.
[1]https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickelston/
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