May is Mental Health Month: Here Are 5 Courses to Explore

When Madalyn Parker sent an email to let her coworkers know she’d be taking the day off to attend to her mental health, she had no idea that she’d become part of a national conversation on mental health in the workplace. While most people feel comfortable letting their manager or teammates know that they’re taking time off to deal with physical ailments, it’s much less common for people to be forthright about mental health challenges they’re facing.

May marks Mental Health America’s 70th year of celebrating Mental Health Month, a time when everyone is encouraged to explore the connection between body and mind.

This is a great time to remind your employees of any mental health benefits you offer, whether it’s on-demand counseling, Employee Resource Programs, or access to other mental health resources.

With companies encouraging employees to “bring their whole selves to work,” it’s time to acknowledge the impact of mental health in the workplace and look for ways to foster a healthier working environment. Over 75% of people are afraid to get punished for taking a day off to attend to their mental health. More than two-thirds of people have had their sleep negatively affected by workplace issues (and as we’ll see later, lack of sleep can have a negative impact on health in a number of ways). And the mental and physical health impacts of workplace burnout and stress are estimated to cost as much as $190 billion per year.

You can make mental health part of the Learning & Development conversation by recommending courses that will help employees manage stress and boost their mental health. Here are five Udemy courses to highlight this Mental Health Month.

1. Managing mental health in the workplace

Intended for Learning & Development professionals, managers, and employees at all levels, Managing Mental Health Issues in the Workplace looks at common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression and their impact in the workplace and provides an introduction to what employers can do to support the mental well-being of their staff. The course covers topics such as:

• Reducing stress by ‘working smart’ and taking a strategic approach to work
• Effective ways of managing reactions to stressful situations
• The benefits of having an open dialogue around stress and mental health in general
• How the six ways to well-being can support long-term mental health

Skill Boosters work with leading subject matter experts to design, develop, and deliver effective video-based training for the workplace. Their courses combine video drama, expert analysis, documentary sequences, and interactive study to provide a dynamic and engaging learning experience.

“Good mix of expert opinion and lived experience from people who have suffered periods of poor mental health. The drama scenes keep you engaged with the course.”–Course review

2. Positive psychology

What does it mean to be happy and why is it worth seeking happiness in the first place? And what is the true connection between money and happiness? These are just a few of the big questions Andrew Luttrell, PhD explores in Be Happier with Positive Psychology.

This course is intended for anyone who has any interest in leading a more fulfilled life using the insights of positive psychology. After introducing broad themes and key determinants of happiness, Andrew recommends specific life hacks that come from real research in the science of happiness. Instructor Andrew Luttrell is a trained social psychologist who teaches classes in social psychology at the university level.

“This course is great! Plenty of simple, actionable advice, presented with real research studies to back it up.”– Course review

3. Coping with stress

When stressful events come our way, evolution has hardwired us to go into the fight-flight-freeze response. This automatic process served us well in surviving across millennia as a species, but in modern life, unconscious reactivity often is counterproductive and even harmful to the things that matter most to us. In reality, stress—the actual experience of tension—doesn’t have to be a problem. In fact, a certain amount of stress is necessary to bring out our full intelligence, creativity and care.

A critical inquiry for us as humans is: When we get triggered and reactive, how do we shift from flight-flight-freeze into “attend and befriend”? This is the evolutionary shift that reconnects us to ourselves and each other.

Flourishing in Stressful Times – with Tara Brach is packed with practical teachings and scientifically validated meditation exercises. Learners will work directly with their real-life negative patterns and learn to relate to stress with an empowering, clear, and caring presence.

Instructor Tara Brach, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, an internationally known teacher of mindfulness meditation, and author of the bestselling Radical Acceptance and True Refuge. Her podcast exploring the role of mindfulness in the realization of human potential receives more than one million downloads each month.

“Tara practices as she preaches, demonstrating elements of the course by her own presence and clarity of mind. Her empathy lets her transcend the artificiality of technology and gives a strong feeling of real participation and interaction, with herself and other students on the course. The theoretical content is sound and clear and the practices well guided. I liked the ‘real life’ reflections with the reminders that, through pause and mindful intention, even some pretty awful stuff may also serve!”– Course review

4. Creating the right mindset

Deepak Chopra coined the phrase SynchroDestiny to express the powerful meeting of synchronicity and destiny. SynchroDestiny is the experience of being in the flow, knowing you’re in the right place at the right time, and fulfilling your desires and destiny with effortless ease.

Harnessing this power is not a skill people are likely to have been taught. But it is easy to learn, and Manifesting Your Best Life with Deepak Chopra – Part 1 helps learners quickly depend on these principles to guide them more effectively and effortlessly in the direction of their dreams. Whether they want to create greater health, loving relationships, a successful business, or a work of art, they will learn how to stop struggling and align themselves with the infinite creative power of the universe and live their best life.

Manifesting Your Best Life is taught by Deepak Chopra and course guide Amanda Ringnalda, a master Chopra Center–certified educator. They will guide learners on an adventure in the field of all possibilities and help them cultivate a mindset that invites opportunities.

“This was a truly enlightening experience throughout the course. It really helped me improve my meditation practice and open my eyes to a world beyond our physical self. Looking forward to part 2!”– Course review

5. Deep sleep

Sleep is an absolutely vital part of maintaining health, but as we discussed earlier, there seems to be a massive problem these days with sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation include everything from elevation in LDL cholesterol and blood sugar to a weakened immune system and higher disease rates.

In Restoring Deep Sleep to Enhance Your Health, Dr. John Bergman helps learners

become masters of sleep and wake up refreshed and energized every single day. This course covers all the factors that affect our ability to achieve deep restful sleep every night. Dr. Bergman is a chiropractor, naturopath, and a researcher who has dedicated his life to teaching and helping people with various, serious health conditions.

“This is an important subject. Dr. Bergman presents the material with authority and makes everything easy to understand. He is serious about helping people but is down to earth. I love his sense of humor! I never hesitate to share what I learn from Dr. Bergman. He has a refreshing enthusiasm about the human body and I share his belief that there’s intelligent design when it comes to people.”– Course review

Explore the full Udemy for Business course collection here.