Disclaimer: this information is for guidance only and is not intended as any form of medical intervention. If you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out for organisations like your GP, NHS 111, or Samaritans (116 123)
Mental Health at Work
Mental health in the workplace is a growing issue. According to Mental Health UK’s 2025 Burnout Report, “1 in 5 workers (21%) needed to take time off work due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress[1]”. This means it’s more important than ever to find ways of improving your mental health, especially if your workplace doesn’t offer any meaningful initiatives.
That’s where CBT can help.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT (or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is a common, but often misunderstood, form of treatment for those struggling with their mental health. It’s mostly used for anxiety and depression related disorders, but its applications can benefit everyone – especially within a workplace context. Essentially, it’s about changing negative thought habits and behaviours by retraining the brain to think in a more beneficial and healthy way.
Wellness Action Plan
A helpful first step is to complete a wellness action plan like the one on the Mind website[2]. Inspired by Mary Ellen Copeland’s Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®)[3], action plans are useful in identifying the current pressures you’re facing at work, how they’re affecting your mental health, and what you could do to deal with them. Once completed, it’s useful to revisit it monthly and make note of any changes (positive and negative). You can also choose to share your action plan with your manager or colleagues to help them understand and be aware of triggers, reactions, or deterioration of your mental health.
Identifying Your Triggers
Having an awareness of what your workplace triggers are and your responses to them, means you’ll know where you need to make adaptations. However, you should never avoid triggers completely, as this can exacerbate future stress responses.
An example of a trigger may be that you need to make an important client call. Your response will likely fall into one or more of the following categories: physical sensation (e.g. your heart rate increases); behaviour (e.g. finding ways to avoid the call); thought (believing you’ll embarrass yourself by saying the wrong thing); mood (you may become dejected or pessimistic).
Addressing Your Triggers
The reaction that’s easiest to address is calming the physical sensations (the others are a little more complicated). Breathing techniques can be useful. But we’re not talking about just taking deep breaths; we’re talking about ‘belly breathing’. According to Harvard Health Publishing[4] it “slows the heartbeat and can lower or stabilize blood pressure” by encouraging full oxygen exchange. Due to the stress often associated with work life, we’ve managed to train our bodies to take shallower ‘chest breaths’ that don’t use the diaphragm correctly. Belly breathing is a way to rebalance that instinct.
If you’re able to, find a secluded area to sit without distraction. This could be a quiet breakout space, a meditation room or meeting pod (if your company provides them), or a seated area outside your office or workspace. Failing this, you could simply utilise earplugs. If none of this is possible because, for example, you’re in the middle of teaching a class, take a few moments as soon as you can to practice some belly breathing. Here’s how it works.
Start by placing one hand on your stomach and breathing deeply through your nose. Allow the air to pass into your lower belly, not your chest; your hand should feel the expanding motion. Then, breathe out through pursed lips and feel your hand lowering. Do this a minimum of ten times (ideally around twenty) and repeat a few times a day. Doing this, even when you haven’t been exposed to a trigger, helps to prepare the body for future anxiety. Over time, you’ll start to feel calmer when a stress response is triggered. This can also be used as a distraction/grounding technique to shift your focus away from any distressing thoughts or feelings.
Moving Forward
CBT can seem daunting at first, especially if you haven’t tried it before, but the more you put in, the more you get out. These tips are the easiest to incorporate into your workday, and provide a base for you to explore CBT further. The hardest part is giving them the time they need! Aim for at least 1 or 2 weeks per technique so you can work through each one thoroughly. And don’t be disheartened if something doesn’t work for you; there are plenty to explore. Watch this space for some more techniques you can try. And if you go on to give CBT a go, well done. You’re taking a big first step towards a more balanced and fulfilling work life.
Sources
[1] https://mhukcdn.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/16142505/Mental-Health-UK_The-Burnout-Report-2025.pdf
[2] https://www.mind.org.uk/media/lbahso3x/mind-wellness-action-plan-workplace.pdf
[3] “(WRAP®) is an evidence-based system used worldwide by people to manage all kinds of challenges that impact their wellbeing. It is a personalised plan that you develop for yourself which helps you think about getting and staying well.” https://leedshealthandcareacademy.org/learning/essential-learning/mental-health-wellbeing-training/wellness-recovery-action-plan/
[4] https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/learning-diaphragmatic-breathing
