Anxiety and stress are the two leading factors that contribute to mental health issues for yacht crews, said experts discussing the importance of wellbeing at a Swiss Ocean conference earlier this month, an event that highlighted the need for better awareness and support in the industry.
Held during Mental Health Awareness Month, the recent Setting Sail to Wellness event that was hosted by the Yacht Club de Monaco and organised by Swiss Ocean Yacht Management honed in on the prevalence of mental health issues, and ways of mitigating and providing support to crew, in the global yachting industry.
The wellness conference was held in a panel style with four speakers, each an expert in their industry.
Among the speakers was Marinos Kokkinis, Managing Director of OneCare Group, a leading health, wellbeing and e-Learning platform for the maritime industry, who highlighted how while one in four people suffer from mental health issues, it is a subject that is often overlooked.
According to a study into mental health in the yachting community, the leading factors in the degradation of mental health are stress (69%) and anxiety (57%).
“It is not just mental health we need to be aware of; physical health is just as important as they can both have an impact on each other,” explained Dr Jens Tulsner, CEO of Marine Medical Solutions, a member of OneCare Group. “Medical issues also create mental health issues as they cause a high level of stress.”
“It’s important to invest in your crew,” said Claire Ferandier-Sicard, CEO and Founder of Empowering Sustainable Yachting ETYC.
Kokkini, meanwhile, added, “Mental health cannot be achieved overnight; it’s a slow process which takes time.”
Speaking to Monaco Life at the conference event on 5th May, Louise Holloway, the Managing Director of Swiss Ocean, shared her motivations for spearheading talks on how to improve mental health support pathways as well as awareness in the yachting sector, saying, “Yachting does get under your skin, and it’s an industry I’m very passionate about.”
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Left to right in photo: =Thorsten Kinzl, Louise Holloway, Claire Ferandier-Sicard, Marinos Kokkinis, Ingrid Gantad and Doctor Jens Tulsner. Photo by Monaco Life