Deborah Jones’ Post

Transcript

Hi, so it's Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK this week, and for those that have found my videos or things I've written before, you know it's something I'm super passionate about. The theme for this week's Mental Health Awareness is about moving more for mental health and actually that's that is, I recognise, so important. This last year I joined a gym and that's something I do with my husband and we go. Three times a week and I really feel the difference. If I don't go, it lifts me up. It gives me energy When things are super busy at work, which is a time my love. I also find that I can get a bit stressed. My shoulders go up and I start feeling pain. But more than that, sometimes I get tired of my energy drops. By going to the gym. I've noticed that that's really helped me through and I have far less of those times where I'm a bit like this is feeling a bit much. And you know, there's probably something in there that I'm loving my job in that moment and that that helps me to, I can't deny that. But moving more definitely helps. The other thing I've done more recently because I've realised during the week I work long hours and I sit at my lovely desk in my office and I just don't move enough. And we do have a dog, my husband takes her out for a walk. So by the time I finished, I don't usually do that. So I thought what could I do on the days I don't go to the gym and I keep having these Facebook. Adverts pop up and I know they're so annoying, but this one actually caught my attention and it was about indoor walking and it's more than walking. It's a bit more exercise wise, but it's a little burst of somewhere between 7:00 and 10:00 minutes and they take you through different indoor type movements. I suppose if if you want to put it that way, that's all related to being on your feet and and moving. It's not stretching or sitting on the floor or anything like that and I've started doing those on on a daily basis. It's something that I can do at lunchtime. So that I'm not waiting till the end of the day and it's getting too much. So what I've realised in all of this is it's about finding a way to move at a time that works for you and finding a way to build in something that lifts you up. That also, yeah, obviously helps you and of course that if it's lifting you up, it's helping you. So yeah, mental health is still something that I think is too much of. For some, it's an embarrassment. It's something to be ashamed of. And you know, I really want to change that. I want it to be the conversation. That's hard if somebody has had, I've said this before, if somebody had an accident and it's really visible on their physical injuries, they would get the help and support for however long that needed, which could be used by the time physio is done with mental health because it's not visible all of the time or even at all. It can be so much more difficult because that person has to be able to come out and say. They need some help or give a signal to somebody. So my request as always is to watch out for those signals to check on in on people say are you OK? And I'm this instance. Shall we go for a walk shall we get some fresh air if you're like me and spend a lot of time with your desk. Some of my colleagues mentioned in a a a session I was having recently they've started doing their one to ones by phone instead of IT teams sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes and they walk. And so they walked together, even though they're in different parts of the country. And like, how great is that? That's definitely something we can learn from. So anyway, that's probably enough for me. I've rambled on a little bit. Good luck and keep moving and if you need help, shout. If you see somebody needs help, ask them are they OK?