As we mark World Mental Health Day 2025, many people working in adland are still battling hidden pressures, from burnout and financial stress to redundancy fears and imposter syndrome. Louise Thompson, marketing director at NABS, explains why it’s more important than ever for the industry to come together and offer meaningful support to those who need it most.
This year’s World Mental Health Day theme ‘access to services in times of catastrophe and crisis’ feels particularly close to home for our industry. While adland might not face natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires, the internal struggles many of us are facing go unseen, with many of our colleagues fighting their own personal emergencies every day.
Discrimination. Burnout. Financial pressure. Anxiety. Loneliness. Bereavement. The list goes on.
And yet, so much of this remains hidden beneath the surface, because in an industry built on creativity, resilience and relentless optimism, people become experts at appearing ‘just fine’. The smiles, the deadlines met, the pitches won, masking the quiet truth that many people are surviving, not thriving.
At NABS, we see this every day through our advice line. Calls come in from people who are holding everything together, until they can’t. Managers who feel out of their depth emotionally. Parents returning from leave, struggling to reconnect. Freelancers trying to stay afloat between invoices. People living with the weight of rising hate directed at their communities. People who have lost someone, lost confidence or lost their spark. Behind every call is a story of someone reaching their limit and realising they can’t do it alone.
And no one should have to. It’s during these challenging and divisive times that it’s more important than ever to come together as a community and wrap our collective arms around those who need support the most.
Some organisations in our industry are doing brilliant work, recognising that an industry powered by creativity can only thrive if its people are mentally well, but there’s still a long way to go. Too often, wellbeing is treated as a tick-box exercise as opposed to a business imperative, when what people really need is expert, compassionate and practical support that addresses personal, professional and systemic pressures.
That’s where NABS comes in. We exist to advance the mental wellness of our industry so we can all keep moving forward, an ally for the people and businesses that make this industry what it is. We provide free, confidential support through our advice line, connecting people to therapy, coaching, and financial grants when they need them most. Our workshops, training and group sessions help people build resilience and confidence long before a crisis hits. It’s not about “fixing” people, it’s about giving them the tools, space and empathy to move forward.
Our data shows that NABS is needed more than ever. Calls to our advice line hit an all-time high last year, with people reaching out for help 5,200 times, and at the end of Q3, people have been contacting us at the same level. Behind these statistics are thousands of individuals who turned to NABS at a challenging time, proof not only of the growing strain people are under, but also of their courage in seeking support. Every call, every conversation, is a reminder that access to help can make the difference between staying stuck or finding a way forward.
But NABS can’t do this alone. We exist because of the generosity and belief of our industry in our purpose. We’re funded entirely by voluntary donations, from companies across the advertising, media and marketing sector and individuals who understand that mental wellness isn’t a luxury, it’s the foundation of creativity, collaboration and commercial success.
The strain beneath the surface isn’t going away as the challenges we all face in the world and the workplace become ever more complex, but with compassion, collective accountability and sustained support, we can make sure that no one in our industry faces it alone.
So, this World Mental Health Day, I’m asking every business leader, every manager and every individual in our community to do two things:
- Check in with yourself and those around you.
- Champion access to real support – whether through your workplace or through NABS.
Because when people have the space and support to be well, they don’t just survive – they collaborate, they create, they lead and they thrive. And that’s what will keep our industry moving forward – together.
