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Mental Wellbeing

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    2012 cycle challenges set!

    Added on 23rd January 2012 by Fiona Yorke in Cycling, Mental Wellbeing

    Some of you will know that at Ultimate U we love cycling and this year we have set ourselves two stretching cycling goals for the year (well stretching for us anyway!).  The first is to complete the coast -to-coast cycle ride from Morecambe to Bridlington in May, 170 miles (with lumpy bits to get over) in 4 days.  We’ll have the support and co-masochists my brother and his partner to share the journey with.  I’m now researching the best padded shorts to ease the torture a bit – any tips from any fellow cyclists out there?

    Then in June we are going to cycle 200km in a day.  So the new fitness and food regime has begun and I’ll be under the watchful eye of fabulous personal trainer and nutritionist Claire Fudge from Nutricise http://www.nutricise.org/ I am hoping my dodgy knee and my husbands temperamental hip hold out…will keep you posted!

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    Who are the real architects of change?

    Added on 16th August 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing, Office Stuff

    Are you like me and have been inspired by the Channel 4 programme – The Secret Life of Buildings?  In last weeks episode, they looked at the connection between good internal architecture of buildings (in particular workspaces) and the influence it has on the well-being of the people within.

    Direct links were made between not only the level of concentration and productivity that people experience but also their psychological health – stress levels, sense of belonging etc. In particular they discussed the perils of the ‘open plan office’ environment and how whilst is a cost conscious option for organisations, they may be paying for poor design through lost productivity and sickness absence.

    Now we’ve been banging on about this for a while as part of our well-being strategies for clients, but it was so refreshing to have examples of organisations who have embraced this idea and have made their workplaces inspirational and motivating, and it doesn’t always mean excessive cost either.

    I’m interested to know how does your organisation construct your workspace? 

    Is it motivational or do you feel you are being watched and monitored??  Let’s get the debate going!

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    Are you sleeping?

    Added on 23rd May 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the key theme this year is sleep…

    Lack of – or more rarely, too much – sleep can indicate that our mental health needs attention.  Worry and stress are the main culprits when it comes to lack of sleep.  Demolishing worry starts with understanding what is within your control: if you have no say in change at work or cannot affect the health of a loved one then, at the very least, you will benefit from gaining some perspective on the situation.

    Have a go at answering these questions for yourself or using them to have a supportive dialogue with a colleague experiencing difficulty:

    • What is the worst thing that could happen and how bad would that really be?
    • If my best friend or someone I loved had this thought, what would I say to them?
    • Do I have strengths or capabilities that I am underestimating that would help me overcome this situation?
    • If my best friend or someone who loves me knew I was thinking this thought, what would they say to me? 
    • Am I being unreasonable and taking responsibility for something I have no responsibility for, or that is completely out of my control?

    For more advice on sleep, follow the link:  http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/mhaw/

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    Survive and Thrive

    Added on 21st April 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Developing Organisational Brilliance, Mental Wellbeing, Stress

    Increasingly, I am noticing that during these turbulent economic times that many small to medium organisations are merging or being bought out by bigger ones.  This has got me thinking about what happens psychologically to the people who were once in a small business and now find themselves propelled into a much larger organisation.  I canvassed some people I know who have just gone through this situation and their comments were quite shocking, here’s a flavour:

    •  ”I felt like all the efforts I had put in over the last few years were now not valued as there was an existing Talent administrator in the bigger company and was doing things her way.”
    • “My manager seemed to be as lost as we were, the perception of the bigger organisation was them as the ‘rescuers’ and we were not really that good, after all we had to be ‘rescued’.  Morale dropped massively and personally many of us feel inadequate.”
    • “ We were told that any job role allocation would be done fairly and that as part of the smaller org. that we would not be disadvantaged.  In reality, what happened is that the new Operations Director had already picked his team and interestingly, none of them were from our organisation.”
    • “I have found it all very frustrating and exhausting, wondering what job you’ll get; whether your colleagues (who are also friends) will secure a job and above all it’s the rumours and gossip that just grind away at your self-esteem, I chose to leave the organisation in the end, I couldn’t take it.”
    • “I hate going to work and being, ‘looked down on’ by the company we have merged with.  The existing staff have made no effort to welcome us and my colleague hit the nail on the head by saying they felt ‘wrung out’.”

    It doesn’t make pleasant reading does it?  I spoke to 15 people about this and only 2 had a positive story.  Okay the sample was small etc. etc. but I wonder are other people’s experiences much different?  What do you think?

    When we’ve worked with organisations going through so much upheaval we have had to emphasise to our clients that you cannot over communicate to staff – even when there is no news – tell them.  What I think this does highlight is that the psychological wellbeing of  people going through mergers or buyouts cannot be underestimated and maybe it’s time for the Directors and Strategists when scoping their plans to merge that they factor in how they will fund and manage the psychological wellbeing of all employees involved, after all, the stigma of poor employee morale can stain an orgnaisation for a long time. 

    Have you been through a similar situation?  It would be great to hear your experiences…

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    Top tip No.9 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 23rd December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 9 – Stop!  Being perfect is not possible

    Repeat after me: “I’m human, I don’t need to be perfect” – repeat until you truly believe it!

    Being you is good enough, so pull back from being critical about yourself.  You are brilliant and lovable just as you are.  Enjoy the festive season!

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    Top tip No.8 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 22nd December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

     Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 8 – Refuse to take responsibility for other people’s feelings

    You’ve done everything: the cooking; cleaning; present buying and to add to your list you think that you should also take responsibility for everyone’s feelings, “I just want everyone to enjoy themselves” might be something you tell yourself. 

    Well, a stress free festive time begins by truly accepting that how someone else feels is up to them, it is something you cannot control because people make a choice over how to behave. So, sit back, relax take a deep breath and let other people take responsibility for themselves. 

    Instead concentrate on how you feel and focus on what you need to be able to enjoy yourself.  Then in the New Year book yourself onto an assertiveness course and learn how to build your self-esteem and improve your relationship with yourself and with others.

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    Top tip No.7 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 21st December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

     Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 7 – Avoid the Family Fracas

    There can often be something about the festive season that turns perfectly lovable family members into complete monsters – perhaps this is often down to the stress they have been experiencing, or the anxiety associated with spending more time with the family – the good news is you don’t have to get drawn into their stress as well.

    Whatever you are planning this year, decide what sort of Christmas and New Year do I really want?  Think about who is going to radiate warmth, love and fun and who is likely to drain away warmth, love and fun, then invite/spend an extra 20% of your time with the radiators.

    Often people use the opportunity to drink lots to unburden all the woes they have had with other family members throughout the year.  We believe that this mischievous behaviour can be diverted if you allocate roles for people during the day – e.g. washing up; topping up drinks; dog walker; vegetable chopper etc.  You could also set some boundaries; talk through with potential ‘tensions seekers’ in the family beforehand about how you expect them to behave at your house. 

    So go on, be imaginative and delegate – you’ll be less stressed and it might just avert that family ‘bust up’ that we all look forward to!

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    Top tip No.6 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 20th December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 6 – Be your own best friend

    Buy an extra present for yourself this year. How often have you been buying presents for other people and come across something you would really like?  My advice is that you deserve to ‘thank yourself’ for all the things you have had to contend with throughout the year.  

    Also, when you are feeling particularly stressed with everything, perhaps thinking about what your best friend would say and do in a similar situation could also help get things in perspective.  What would they say to you if they were next to you right now?

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    Top tip No.5 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 19th December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 5 – Get some sleep

    Perhaps you are in a situation where your work life increases in activity at this time of year, your home life incurs its own demands and simply the stress of carrying out your life is becoming overwhelming.  Sometimes to get through the day we ‘over-stimulate’ ourselves with caffeine and maybe in the evenings consume more alcohol than normal (a depressant in itself). In addition, perhaps our bedroom space has ‘Christmas clutter’ in it – reminders of the chaotic days we are having. 

    Why not make-over your bedroom as a sanctuary from the outside world? This could really help improve sleep patterns. Research has shown that creating an uncluttered space for sleeping dramatically improves the replenishing phase of sleep. Naturally, cutting down on the caffeine and alcohol will also help.  So get your best bedding out, de-clutter as best as you can and create the sleep sanctuary you deserve!

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    Top tip No.4 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 18th December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period….

    Tip 4 – You can’t buy love

    I have known people who use Christmas as an opportunity to try to “buy” the love of others for various reasons – feeling guilty about not being able to spend time with those we love throughout the year; wanting to spoil our nearest and dearest; fear of being rejected; trying to compete with neighbours/friends; thinking that the more we spend the more we might be loved etc.  I realise that this doesn’t make for nice reading.  This type of behaviour raises more questions than answers. 

    Short term suggestions? Take a risk! Perhaps you could re-frame your motivations for buying that expensive pressie; perhaps you could look into getting a cheaper alternative?  Or listen to your gut instinct that is telling you the purchase is for all the wrong reasons and put it back on the shelf and simply walk away.  

    As for long term suggestions: it’s possibly time to look at how to plug the gaps in your self-esteem that might be causing this behaviour. To know that you are worthy of being loved because of being ‘you’ rather than any materialistic gift that you could give might facilitate a whole new perspective.  Perhaps you could talk to those you don’t see that often and arrange to meet up more regularly next year?  Get the dates in the diary and stick to it!