Hi ….we are sure you must be bored, frustrated or stressed due to the corona virus. If not then we are sure you know someone who is. This video offers scientific advice on how to maintain/preserve your mental health during this lockdown. Also some links to resources for exercises, learning new things and meditation
Britain has gotten more stressful in recent years for many people. Everywhere we look, there’s a new statistic to tell us just how miserable, burnt out, and fundamentally abandoned we are: one recent survey reported that only 13 per cent of people in the UK would say they are in good mental health.
Let’s put some context in that statistic. The current UK population stands at 67,613,395*. If, on average, only 13 per cent of the population feels as though they are enjoying a good level of mental health, that means a whopping 58,823,654 people are dealing with below-average mental health.
What about in the workplace? Well, looking at a hypothetical company of 50 employees, if only 13 per cent are happy in their current mental health, there are around 43 employees who are struggling with less-than-great mental health.
Clearly, there’s a need to support and cultivate good mental health practices in the workplaces of Britain. But how can employers and employees go about doing this? As with any problem, the first step is to identify exactly what it is…
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, mental health and mental illness are very different issues. Both need to be handled in the workplace with equal levels of respect and understanding, and in many cases, both are manageable for a person in order to perform as well as their co-workers who suffer neither mental illness nor poor mental health.
But it is important to understand the difference in order to deliver the best level of management within your workplace. On his recent visit to South Africa, the Duke of Sussex defined the two matters best by saying:
“I think most of the stigma is around mental illness, we need to separate the two… mental health, which is every single one of us, and mental illness, which could be every single one of us.”
The same can be said for mental health compared to mental illness. Someone who is mentally healthy might have a bad day at work. This causes their mental health to decrease — and it’s an understandable reaction to a negative event. But someone with mental illness may feel that way without any obvious outside influence (like the bad day at work scenario). Again, should the person with mental illness have a bad day at work too, they might feel the impact of this outside influence to a much greater degree. Of course, that’s not to say that’s always the case — someone with a mental illness can be mentally healthy and coping well. Someone without a mental illness can be mentally unhealthy and not coping.
As cliché as it sounds, a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Businesses can do several things to not only support employees coping with mental illness, but also support positive day-to-day mental health across the workforce. Often, these processes go hand-in-hand, but there are a few things companies can do to specifically tailor to one or the other.
Holding talks can be hugely beneficial to creating a sense of openness and understanding in the workplace. Many people may erroneously think a mental illness automatically disqualifies someone from working or think that poor mental health is a sign of weakness. Both of these viewpoints can be wildly detrimental to other employees, who may not have spoken openly about their struggles and fear to do so upon hearing this from their colleagues.
Encourage a better-enlightened mindset for your workplace. There are numerous charities and experts who would be more than happy to come into the workplace to give a talk on the realities of mental health and mental illness, and help to disperse any stereotypes or falsehoods regarding the issues.
Why not make a day of it? You don’t have to wait for an national day to raise awareness — host an expert for a workshop on mental health in the workplace, and set aside some time in the canteen after for people to ask questions and discuss the matter. You could make a coffee morning of it with an array of cakes on offer, hot beverages, or an iced coffee machine if you’re hosting in the summer months! This type of event will make for a much more open and supportive network among staff. They will learn how to approach co-workers they may be concerned for, or how to reach out if they themselves are dealing with a difficult time.
There are processes that can be built into a company to help ease pressure on mental health. The goal is to make the office environment as relaxed as possible — the work itself might be stressful, but the environment should balance out to avoid natural stress becoming unmanageable anxiety. After all, a comfortable worker can tackle a difficult task better than an uncomfortable one.
Be sure to look at your workplace’s processes and layouts too. For example, open-plan offices are popular in the workplace right now, and it certainly has its benefits. It prevents silo-working, encourages communication, and dispels some of the hierarchal feeling that can develop in cubicle-style work. People can ask for feedback easier in an open-plan office, and this can promote a more efficient creativity.
However, for someone with anxiety or autism, open-plan offices can prove challenging. The sense of being in a crowd can be uncomfortable for some, and people with anxiety disorders or autism can struggle in noisy, chaotic environments — too much noise, from office music or chatter, can overwhelm an employee with autism, for example, due to auditory sensitivity. An anxious employee might find it difficult to work in an open-plan office, but not impossible on a good day. But on a bad day, it could be overbearing. Having the option to work away from the open-style office could be a beneficial perk to some employees, whether this is a dedicated “quiet room” for intensive tasks that require a lot of concentration, or the option to work from home on days when a person’s mental health isn’t at its best.
The fact is many people are working while dealing with bad mental health or a daily struggle with mental illness. Many people do so perfectly successfully too! But it is beneficial to both employers and employees to ensure flexibility and support are on hand at work to help everyone when needed.
*Number correct as of 24th September 2019
https://www.ihasco.co.uk/blog/entry/1934/shocking-statistics-behind-mental-health-in-uk-workplaces
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/uk-population/
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-openplan-office-space-80288.html
What does an anxiety attack physically feel like? If you’re anxious in your head, you can worry, but not all anxious people worry. There’s some pretty scary physical symptoms associated with it. This video discusses some of the scary physical symptoms associated with anxiety. These are some of the symptoms at 1:40:
Heart palpitations
Shortness of breath
Lightheaded/dizziness
Weak legs
Chest and back pressure
Neck and shoulder pain
Headaches
Heat from the head
Trouble swallowing
Cloudy or blurry vision
The UK and US might be a considerable distance apart, with differing everyday cultures. But we do have one thing in common: stress! Stress has become associated with the workplace more and more in recent years, with many people feeling worn down by the demands of 9-5 office life. In the UK, four out of five of those who work in an office said that they had experienced burnout, a notorious epidemic which comes as a result of stress. Across the pond in America, 83% of American employees said that they had experienced work-related stress, and this statistic has increased steadily in the past few years.
Whether it is expressed during a workplace rant over a morning coffee, or by taking to Twitter to voice our frustrations, it seems that many of us are relatively open when it comes to admitting that we are stressed. So, considering the above, we’ve analysed data from Babylon Health on some major towns and cities in the UK and US, ranking them on how many ‘stressed out’ tweets had been sent in each location. The tweets are recorded on the premise that they contained words relating to frustration, stress and anxiety, with over 5 million global posts being assessed against the stress-ometer.
Imagine a typical British businessman and you’re likely to conjure up a certain image. Crisp white men’s shirts, juggling a briefcase and a takeout coffee in hand, searching for a spot with enough signal to tap into the morning’s conference call. Most businessmen try to convey a vibe of consistency and composure, but the reality for many is a gruelling workload and weekly hours which stretch far beyond 5 o’clock. Business etiquette is taken rather seriously, but the fact that over 11 million days are lost due to stress from UK businesses each year should be prioritised.
The UK has plenty of major cities which are notorious for business culture, but what is perhaps most surprising is the fact that many of the places we associate with the hustle and bustle of business didn’t rank notably high in terms of stressed-out tweets.
The first large city to rank in the Babylon Health study was Cardiff, with 11.97% of tweets recorded as being stress related. Over the border in Scotland, 10.43% of all tweets analysed in Glasgow were stress related, and this fell to 9.19% in Edinburgh. Cross the Irish sea and arrive in Northern Ireland’s bustling business hub of Belfast, where only 9.24% of tweets fell into the ‘stressed’ category. Most surprisingly amongst the stats is London, and the average amount of stressed tweets across all boroughs including the central district was 8.63% — considering that the city generates 22% of the UK’s overall GDP. This is notably lower than the figure for the city of London alone, which stands at 7.05%. More than 400,000 daily commuters flow through the central area, but they appear to be tweeting less about their daily stresses while they are commuting or at work. The figure for the boroughs excluding the central zone is 8.68%, suggesting that the stressed tweets are far freer flowing once workers have returned home for the day.
The finding from the most stressed UK counties revealed some surprises — with North Yorkshire (10.07%) and Worcestershire (10.56%) and Cumbria (8.65%) all in the top half of the results table. In Cornwall, Devon and West Sussex, the most stressful day of the week according to the data was Saturday, while residents in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and Shropshire all falling victim to the more conventional Monday stress woes.
In the USA, nearly $300 billion is lost annually as a result of workplace stress, and only a mere 43% of employees believe that their employers care about the welfare of their wider workforce. We’ve taken a look at the US social media stress plight, and there are some equally interesting results from our American counterparts.
While the West Coast of America is known most for its laid back, low key approach to everyday life, and the East Coast a polar opposite to this, the social media stress results served up some unexpected results! Along the West Coast, California topped the table as the most stressed state with Chula Vista (12.03%), Bakersfield (11.96%), Stockton (11.91%) and Santa Ana (11.89%) all generating quite the opposite image of California, going against the stereotype of the ultra-relaxed, sun-kissed workforce — worlds apart from commuters as they surge through Grand Central Station pouring out onto the New York streets.
Overall, the sunshine state of Florida had the most stressed city, with 13.03% stressed tweets coming from the area. The home of congress and a hub for American politics, Washington DC was surprisingly less stressed than those on the West Coast, hitting only 9.66% on the social media stress-o-meter! The most stressed out state was Alaska (11.69%), which also comes as a surprise due to the vast, tranquil expanse of land that it encompasses.
No matter what side of the Atlantic you live on, if you’re feeling stressed then there are ways to tackle workplace woes. From introducing a calming, new interior décor scheme, to having an office dog, there are ways to combat those everyday challenges. Changing the nature of your office space is also a great place to start, and many people concentrate better in an environment which stimulates or engages them. Through simple touches such as indoor plants or wall prints to name a few, you can create a space which is more appealing to work in.
Many modern offices have dedicated breakout spaces for employees, where they can take a break away from the screen, allowing them some down time. Employees perform best under individual circumstances, and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach for the working day. These spaces can facilitate a few minutes for simply processing information or catching up with colleagues, or alternatively they could promote effective, collaborative work.
Keeping your staff fit and healthy is also important and investing in their wellbeing should be paramount. From introducing standing desks to employing a cycle to work scheme or a gym membership perk, letting your employees feel at their best while also promoting the release of stress-busting endorphins — simply by getting active!
While stress might seem part and parcel of many roles nowadays, it shouldn’t have to be this way. Focus should certainly be placed on helping employees to combat this attitude effectively. Employee welfare is an important provision to have in place, whether you offer counselling sessions or stress-busting initiatives such as staff activities, flexible hours, and work from home days. Experiencing stress is inevitable from time to time. But placing value in employee welfare should be a priority for businesses. It’s also essential for workers to address any 9-5 stresses and approach them wisely, as a social media rant doesn’t always pay its dividends!
Despite divorces reaching their lowest since 1973 in England and Wales, it’s regularly a hot topic in the media. As sad as it is, nobody plans to divorce when they get married. It’s an unfortunate event that can have suffering consequences for the family, including the couple getting divorced and children.
No matter the age of a child of divorce, your family splitting up can have traumatic effects on a child’s mental health. So, in this article, we will explore how this can affect children, and how you can minimise damage.
Divorces cause a lot of change for the child’s everyday family life. For a younger child progressing through their developmental years, having one parent moving out of the house can be confusing.
As a younger child, they’re unable to understand why one of their parents isn’t around anymore, spending time with them anymore.
Research has found that the older the child is, the more likely they are to process the divorce than younger children. Despite this, they are the most likely to bear the brunt of the effect of change. The breakdown of a marriage could mean them moving to a new house, moving school, or no longer seeing one of their parents. It could also mean the family is less well-off financially.
Your child can be affected by this change. For example, in the past, your child may have been able to go away on a school trip each year with their friends, whether it be skiing or a pre-summer break. This will irritate and upset a child who has grown accustomed to such a lifestyle.
A main concern when thinking about your children and involving family law solicitors is not understanding the child’s behaviour. A failure to understand a situation can develop into frustration, and in many cases, this can result in anger.
Usually, when a parent isn’t present, levels of disciple change. Rather than dishing out punishment for bad behaviour, try to understand the position in which the child finds themselves.
Try not to forget that your child is experiencing intense emotions during this period. Therefore, be patient and take into consideration the way you are acting around them.
Children are highly observant of their surroundings. So, if one parent is badmouthing another, they are likely to pick up on this and replicate it. Although the situation between both co-parents may be rather toxic, for the sake of the child’s emotional stability, communication is key. Monitoring behaviour around both parents, particularly if they are now living in different homes, is an effective way to quash any behavioural issues.
It’s unsurprising that a steady education will act as a good foundation for a child’s mental health. Research has discovered that children who grow up in a two-parent, married family are more likely to do better at school. They are more likely to be less disruptive in class, and less aggressive towards other classmates. In terms of their academic performance, children whose parents’ marriage is intact are more likely to do their work without being forced.
In 2014, the BBC conducted research which found that 65 per cent of children of divorce received exam results worse than expected in their GCSEs, while 44 per cent also insinuated that they believe their A-Level results had suffered. Resolution, who conducted the research, proposed that the disruption of moving school could be at fault for the exam results.
Although it can be a difficult time deciding whether to divorce and disrupt your child’s life, it’s certainly better to do what’s best for yourself. Staying in an unhappy marriage exposes your child to a negative environment which can have damaging effects on their future expectations of relationships.
https://www.ourfamilywizard.co.uk/blog/behavioural-issues-children-after-divorce
https://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170
https://www.parents.com/parenting/relationships/should-i-stay-in-my-marriage-for-the-kids/