From Nurse to Mental Health Advocate: Why I Moved from Clinical Care to Wellbeing Training

After 20+ years as a community diabetes nurse in the NHS, I made an unexpected career shift. I left clinical practice to focus entirely on mental health training and workplace wellbeing. Here's why — and why it matters for your organisation.

The Gap I Kept Seeing

Working in community diabetes care taught me something crucial: you can't separate physical health from mental health.

Patients managing chronic conditions weren't just dealing with blood sugar levels and medication — they were managing anxiety, stress, lifestyle changes, and the emotional weight of living with a long-term diagnosis. Yet our healthcare system treated these as separate issues.

The same pattern showed up everywhere. Colleagues were burning out. Workloads were increasing. Mental health support was either non-existent or only available after the crisis point.

Something had to change.

Why Healthcare Workers Are at Breaking Point

The statistics tell a stark story:

• 1 in 4 people experience mental health challenges each year

• Burnout rates in caring professions are climbing

• Many employees still don't feel safe discussing mental health at work

• Healthcare, education, and social care workers face some of the highest stress levels

This isn't about individuals not coping. It's about systems that prioritise service delivery over the people who deliver it.

The Mind-Body Connection Healthcare Often Ignores

In diabetes care, I saw daily how stress impacts physical health outcomes. High cortisol levels affect blood sugar control. Anxiety makes it harder to follow treatment plans. Depression reduces motivation for self-care.

The connection works both ways. Chronic illness increases the risk of mental health challenges. Physical symptoms often have psychological roots.

Yet we kept treating them separately. That never made sense to me.

Making the Shift to Prevention

I retrained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and became a qualified mindfulness teacher and Mental Health First Aid instructor. Not because I wanted to leave nursing, but because I wanted to address problems before they became crises.

Prevention is standard practice in physical health. We don't wait for someone to have a heart attack before discussing diet and exercise. Why do we wait for mental health crises before offering support?

What Wellbeing Inspire Does Differently

I founded Wellbeing Inspire to bring preventative mental health support to organisations. The focus is practical, evidence-based training that people can use immediately:

Mental Health First Aid Training equips teams to recognise early warning signs and respond confidently. It's about having conversations before situations escalate and knowing how to connect people with appropriate support.

Mindfulness-Based Programs, including MBSR and Oxford University's Finding Peace in the Frantic World. These aren't abstract meditation retreats — they're proven techniques for managing stress in high-pressure environments.

Workplace Wellbeing Training that shifts organisational culture. This means teaching leaders to model open conversations, helping teams build supportive environments, and creating practical pathways to support.

Why Healthcare Experience Matters

Bringing 30+ years of clinical experience to mental health training means understanding:

• The real pressures teams face when understaffed and overwhelmed

• How to have difficult conversations with compassion and clarity

• The importance of evidence-based approaches that actually work

• How physical and mental health impact each other

I'm not teaching theory from a textbook. I'm sharing what works in real-world, high-pressure situations because I've lived and worked in them.

The Preventative Approach Works

When organisations invest in mental health literacy before crises occur:

• Teams recognise warning signs in colleagues early

• Managers create psychologically safer work environments

• Absence rates drop and retention improves

• People develop sustainable stress management skills

• Conversations about wellbeing become normal, not awkward

Small shifts in how we talk about mental health, check in with colleagues, and normalise support-seeking create cultures where people thrive rather than just survive.

What Your Organisation Needs

If your team is experiencing high stress, increased absences, or burnout concerns, good intentions aren't enough. You need:

• People trained to recognise and respond to mental health challenges

• Safe environments where wellbeing conversations can happen

• Practical tools teams can use in their daily work

• Leadership that models a healthy workplace culture

This is where evidence-based training creates measurable change.

From Treatment to Prevention

My transition from nursing to mental health training isn't a departure from healthcare — it's an evolution of it. Both roles share the same goal: helping people live healthier lives.

The difference is timing. Instead of treating problems after they develop, I now help organisations build the knowledge, skills, and culture that prevent many problems from occurring in the first place.

The organisations that thrive in the coming years won't be the ones that react fastest to crises. They'll be the ones that invested in prevention, created supportive cultures, and equipped their people with the skills to manage challenges before they become overwhelming.

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Ready to prioritise prevention in your workplace?

Let's discuss how Mental Health First Aid training, mindfulness programs, or workplace wellbeing strategies can support your team.

Contact: rekha@wellbeing-inspire.com | 07971 174073

Build a workplace where people are genuinely supported to do their best work.