Number of people helped: only one. A small number, or it would seem according merely to statistics.
 
Usually, our newsletters are written by our Founder, Enoch, but today I will take the opportunity to say Hello as a new joiner to Bearapy. I have moved 9 times to different countries during my childhood and formative years, and when you mix drastic cultural and environmental changes with moving schools, the result is finding yourself in situations that you wish you were not in, and ones that shine light on the inadequacy of only quantifying the impact of changes. 

Years ago, in 5^th grade, one of my friends started developing anxiety symptoms. She would often not come to school, and when she did, her stomach would hurt. It would be difficult for her to step into the classroom without tearing up. And she was one of the brightest in the room. Occasionally, she would have anger outbursts, ones that deepened the strain of her mental health on her social life. She was one of those individuals who did not get “classified” as needing help – maybe it was just a normal part of growing up? No one paid a closer look, not the teachers, not her peers. But, you might say, it is just one person, why would it matter? Only if you look at it solely from a quantitative perspective. For herself, her family, and friends, her mental wellbeing meant a lot more than any number could represent.

Unfortunately, my friend is one of the many examples why we cannot only rely on statistics to gear our belief on how many people are in need of help – or have been helped.

The frameworks we use today to measure and document the state in which people are in in terms of mental health are highly important in identifying patterns. But too often, we rely solely on them. Engage yourself in your own introspection. Chances are you have experienced or noticed in a loved one or a friend a mental health condition that has gone undiagnosed. Yet you know that it was no less relevant or important than those situations which do get documented.

This leads to the second issue related to quantitatively measuring mental wellbeing through statistics: we cannot simply judge by numbers to say whether we have made a change and impact or not.

The question we must ask ourselves now is: 

Too often, employers are concerned with only survey scores to measure change. We cannot deny that current quantifying methods are crucial to measure whether we are making progress when it comes to employee mental health. But what about mental wellbeing? Many of you may ask what the difference is, or if there is one at all. Simply put, we can consider mental health to be relatively measurable, scientific, and objective. Embedded in its definition are criteria including “the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (World Health Organization). However, when we discuss mental wellbeing, we further incorporate our subjective feelings and thoughts about how we deal with everyday challenges. 

This is the human heart, mind, and sense of self.  This is no less important than our objective, “diagnosable health”. 

Let us expand our meaning-making to bring in other kind of data in addition to numbers, such as stories. Stories of personal experiences by individuals who have, or do, live with a mental health condition are able to inspire and help those in similar situations. Will you share your story too, and help others?

Please contribute to our Stories Initiative at the Workplace with some prompt questions and other submission guidelines that you can find here? We will compile them and publish them to inspire others. 
 

Bearapy won the "Best Company for the Advancement of Women" Award (SME category) at the first  Women Empowerment Awards in China organized by the American Chamber of Commerce China and SCSHAsia. This award recognizes Bearapy’s contribution to the society by “demonstrate(ing) a commitment to real progress in gender equity and engaged people across all genders and all levels of the business to deliver that progress”.
 
We model this philosophy by offering support and guidance to companies who are taking steps to improve their employee inclusion and diversity program, especially from a mental health perspective. As the company’s founder, Enoch, mentioned in her speech, we aim to “help women understand that self-care is not selfish, and that wellbeing must be the priority for us to maximize our potential.” 

Thank you to all those we have supported us throughout our journeys and helped us become better than we are!