Stress Happens!

At the time of writing, the Caribbean superyacht season is in full swing and the Mediterranean season is looming just around the corner in a few months time. It can be a stressful time for any crew, from the most senior to the most junior - and we could all do with a little help to manage stress and our response to it.

We’ve written a number of blogs about mental health and things you can do to help manage your own stress and mental health, and when to seek help. We’ve listed them at the end of this blog.

But did you know that we can also offer a one day, onboard training session, for the whole crew? Stress Happens! is run in conjunction with the super experienced team at Impact Crew, so you benefit from a business, leadership and team perspective, together with the medical and wellness input.

Stress Happens! was developed in response to feedback from superyacht crews and has been running for 4 years. It can be delivered in one day and is suitable for crew at any level. It’s also delivered onboard, making it easy to facilitate the whole crew to attend. The aim is to focus on mental wellbeing and stress, providing tools and techniques to help you to manage your own stress, helping others to manage their stress and knowing where to turn for help if it’s needed. 

Areas covered through the day include:

• What is stress and mental health?

• How common is stress when working at sea?

• Dispelling the myths and stigma around mental health.

• Causes and symptoms of stress.

• The red flags - know when help is needed.

• Managing online interactions and communications.

• Diversity and inclusion.

• Recognising bullying and harassment.

• Looking after yourself - what are your stress triggers and how can you manage them?

• Speaking up, giving feedback and supporting others.

• Where to go for help.

These statistics have been taken from the ISWAN 2023 report on their yachtcrewhelp.org service - a 24/7 service that’s well worth finding out about if it's new to you.

---

Tackling the challenge of managing our stress and mental health is not a new concept, but we need to continue to develop our understanding of ourselves, update the toolkit of techniques to help, and make it easier to speak up and support others effectively. 

So, if you’re starting to think about giving your crew a boost between the Caribbean and Mediterranean seasons, or planning your off season training package, please get in touch now and let’s chat about what you need and how we can help.

We’re passionate about supporting crews and promoting good mental health while working at sea, so please help us to spread best practice and support your team.

P.S. Stress Happens! is also open to land based teams, not just those on the water!