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No Difficulty Here Having a learning difficulty often makes for a more visionary and innovative business leader. ORLA CONNOLLY chats to two entrepreneurs proving that very point.

Today, on World Mental Health Day Aware, the national depression support organisation is encouraging people in Ireland who may be impacted by depression or bipolar disorder, or those who are concerned for their own or a loved one’s mental health, to contact the organisation and find out more about the organisation’s range of free, clinically effective support services. Aware can be contacted on Freephone 1800 80 48 48 and email – supportmail@aware.ie.

Strategies you can learn to improve your Mental Strength: Spend 3 minutes in the morning practicing Power Poses to enhance your confidence, ability to win and leadership skills. Say No Often.  Recent studies showed that the more difficulty you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout and depression. Say “No” at least once day. Embrace Failure. Mentally tough people know that no one is going to experience true success without a number of big failures. Don’t dwell on your mistakes. Have a Growth Mindset. The Growth Mindset is based on the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed. Mentally tough people allow themselves to get out of their comfort zone on a daily basis. Practice Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of developing the ability to discipline the mind, take control of that chattering and bring focus to thinking. Get enough sleep. It is difficult to overstate the importance of a good sleep. When you sleep your brain removes toxic proteins. If you don’t get enough sleep, your toxic proteins remain in your brain cells that will affect the capacity of your brain. Don't wait for an Apology to forgive. Mentally tough people know that forgiveness is critical to experiencing happiness and joy in life. Eat plenty of Brain food to boost your brainpower. The brain requires nutrients just like the rest of your body. You just need to know which food keeps brain cells healthy. Understand the power of moving. Mind and body are connected in a powerful way and mentally strong people know about this connection, that’s why they put a lot of emphasis on keeping their bodies in a good physical health and find plenty of opportunity to move their bodies during their working day. Always keep a bigger picture in mind. Short-term pain means long-tern gain. Mentally strong people don’t get disappointed easily and just keep going.  Mental toughness is not an innate quality bestowed upon a select few. It can be achieved and enjoyed.

World Mental Health Day takes place on October 10 and is themed “psychological and mental health first aid for all”. This was a happy coincidence given the official launch of Mental Health First Aid in Ireland took place on September 29th . While mental health first aid is a relatively new concept in Ireland it has been around internationally for over 10 years with more than a million people trained in it worldwide.

A recent UK employment case between G4S Cash Solutions Ltd v Powell will interest employers both in the UK and Ireland, it concerns whether protection of salary can be a reasonable accommodation (known as a ‘reasonable adjustment’ in the UK) in a disability discrimination case and contract variations.

Barrister Lorraine Lally was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was eight. “It’s a life-long medical condition which you need to be brave about but I’ve always told people I have it,” says Lally.

Depression is a very common condition which affects more than 450,000 people in Ireland (one in ten) at any one time. Any of us, irrespective of age, gender or background, can be affected at some point in our life.