#RCNRep2023 it’s Day 2 ⁦@theRCN⁩ ⁦@uhbtrust⁩ #Menopause #Lead will be starting the day with this discussion. ⁦@SusanPriceRD⁩ ⁦@Bevbaker2305⁩ ⁦@MargaretGarbet6⁩ ⁦@KularRandeep⁩ ⁦@CathiHROD⁩ ⁦@BSoLCNO⁩ ⁦@RCNWestMids⁩ #WomenH

Any colleagues in the @NHSBSol patch affected by the #conflict in #Israel and #Gaza and need support contact me for signposting #Wellbeing @SusanPriceRD @theRCN members @BSoLCNO @dameyveb @uhbtrust #Wellbeing #Officer @CathiHROD @BarryPanton1 @davidcoumar1

Important for leaders like Humza Yousaf to normalise access to counselling for good mental health. As trainee counsellor I know counselling can take leaders beyond coaching to truly understand self to own your own shadow for better relations & to lead well

Thank you to the ⁦⁦@uhbtrust⁩ roving flu vaccinators out bright & early this morning & every morning at our main entrances to make it easy for staff to get vaccinated💉

“Racial barriers hinder human connections” @Bevbaker2305 introducing @CliffFaulder from About Face @BSol_ICS #BHM conference. Cliff highlights whether you experience racism or see it happening to someone else,whatever the colour of your skin, it impacts you forever @olgalwalters

Mum’s the word @BSol_ICS #BHM conference - so many stories that start with mums as the beautiful role models of resilience, courage & humility - saluting all the mums & all the sisters #SalutingOurSisters

Nothing is impossible, says GP Dr Onyinye Okonkwo whose scars are also her victories @BSol_ICS #BHM conference #SalutingOurSisters “who are you lifting up?”

💥 Thank you @ScotttheBoom for helping us all focus on the boom to overcome the bust @BSol_ICS #BHM conference. Do different to get different, “don’t create solutions that hold you back, ask questions that move you forward” @olgalwalters @SusanPriceRD @Bevbaker2305 @KularRandeep

Think about when you share a problem with a friend. You do not expect them to have solutions, you’re just grateful they’re there for you. If someone shares their feelings with you, listening sincerely & compassionately is more help than trying to fix feelings #WMHD #WMHD2023

World Mental Health Day has been an opportunity to get us all talking about mental health. The other side of this of course is listening. We often jump to solutions & try to fix stuff, but it’s not always what’s being sought when someone shares their feelings with you.

Saluting our @uhbtrust sisters - been great to have their stories & experiences shared with the BAME staff network today as part of Black History Month, including powerful poem written by Esther our Clinical Deputy Head of Temporary Staffing - “Poverty Didn’t Bring Me Here”

This World Mental Health Day take time to listen to your inner voice and the conversations you are having with yourself. Our beliefs about ourselves largely determine our feelings about ourselves, but our perspective can be distorted by our mood #WMHD #WMHD2023

Some pauses can be brief to help us make the most of our time: next time you go to a meeting, imagine there’s a stile at the door and visualise climbing over it, & during the pause be intentional about how you want to show up when you enter the room.

There’s a Zen proverb “you should sit in meditation for 20mins every day, unless you’re too busy… then you should sit for an hour”. We all need to press pause at intervals - how & when means changing our approach to time & how we use it.

A fellow counselling student today who is a fan of Stephen King novels introduced me to a quote from the writer that spoke to both of us: “You can, you should, & if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” you don’t always have to be brave alone. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

I have turned to my go-to visualisation technique, imagining myself walking on to my fave beach spot, letting go of my anxieties as they float up in to a cloud that drifts out over the Adriatic Sea, rains the anxieties that get washed away in the water #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

A root to letting go of my anxieties has been to reclaim the root cause, which loosened its grip, & an acknowledgment that the only person you can change is yourself. When at my most anxious I will turn away from the techniques that help me most.

Anxiety is interesting to dissect - whatever cause of reaction in the first place is often different from the reactions that keep it going. We find strategies for dealing with these anxieties but the helpful ones are those that don’t cause us short term relief for long term harm.

Today’s counselling training has been good time in #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek to focus on anxiety. In prep for today’s assessment, before I could be authentically present for my practice clients I had to attend to my own anxieties that have dominated my thoughts in recent months.