Never Not Listening
Never Not Creative (NNC) is launching Never Not Listening, a new peer support program for people across the creative, media and marketing industries who want somewhere to talk about the pressure they carry, before it turns into burnout.
NNC's Mentally Healthy research has consistently found that the single biggest driver of stress for people in this industry isn't just clients, managers or deadlines, it's the pressure we put on ourselves to do great work. That pressure comes from a good place: we want to be our best, we wear our hearts on our sleeves, and we put everything we have into what we make. The problem isn't the passion. It's that nobody ever taught us how to carry it, and, because everyone around us is doing exactly the same thing, it starts to feel normal. Until it isn't.
The toll is real: 82% of people say they mentally take the job home with them, 76% say it affects their health, and 71% have lost sleep over it. But only 36% think a different job would fix things. The support that people in our industry need, is sharing tools, experiences and community for how we handle the pressure inside it.
That's the gap Never Not Listening is built to close. We don't have to suffer in silence. If you reach out, there's a very good chance the person next to you has felt exactly the same way and just needed someone to say it to first.
The program runs as six fortnightly, two-hour peer support sessions over 12 weeks, with the same small group and facilitators throughout. Sessions are peer-led rather than expert-led, and build practical, simple tools for noticing pressure earlier and speaking up about it sooner. It's not therapy and it's not a crisis service. It's peer support, for people who are managing, not people in crisis.
The pilot opens in September and is reserved for people who have completed Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training within the last 24 months. Participants are first invited to experience the program for themselves, with the option to go on and facilitate future groups using the skills they already have. For those that haven’t felt they’ve been able to put their training to good use, Never Not Listening is exactly that opportunity. After the pilot, Never Not Listening will open to the wider industry, with future groups facilitated by pilot graduates and members of NNC's Never Not Mentally-Healthy Change Group.
Check out the program here >
The program is the brain-child of Andy Wright, Founder of Never Not Creative and Virginia Scully of Humankind Collective.
"Despite the pressures, this remains a rewarding and purposeful industry to work in. We care about the work, we wear our hearts on our sleeves, and we give everything we've got to it. The problem is nobody ever taught us how to handle that kind of pressure, and because we're all doing it, it just feels normal, until it isn't. Sure, you may have supportive friends and family, but that’s not quite the same as talking and listening with people in the same boat who get it, and that can change everything."
Andy Wright, founder, Never Not Creative
"Everyone who's done Mental Health First Aid training already knows how to notice when someone's struggling. Never Not Listening gives them somewhere to put that into practice, first by taking part themselves, then, if it's right for them, by facilitating for others—developing listening and facilitation skills that become invaluable across every workplace. It's proof that the moment people in this industry open up, they realise they were never carrying it alone."
Virginia Scully, Humankind Collective
MHFA-trained professionals working in the creative, media and marketing industries can register for the pilot at nevernotcreative.org/mentally-healthy/programs/never-not-listening.
