We are at a time just after Boris’s announcement. We can see light at the end of the tunnel for what has been a really difficult year for the country, for individuals, and the world. It’s been an almighty struggle for everyone and it’s hit us all in, in different ways particularly our mental health whether we know it or we don’t.
For our 13th episode of Coworking In T’North I sat down with Karen Cargill from E F Mind to talk about the importance of mental health and our well-being during the pandemic and in the future.
Karen started E F Mind in April 2020 because she is passionate about helping businesses and individuals to address their health and wellbeing needs. “I just love helping people, gives me such a boast”. The main services are provided by E FMind are corporate training, mindfulness, and hypnotherapy. I do have a website if Efmind.com and that explains the services in a lot of detail. And there are lots of testimonials on there.
Working from home or in isolation can affect both the physical and psychological wellbeing. And despite the government’s roadmap that they’ve recently announced, for some people, the mental health challenges of reconnecting back to life after lockdown might be just as hard as the ones they faced at the beginning when we started the pandemic.
Karen’s three main tips:
⦁ Look after your body
⦁ Look after your mental health
⦁ Communicate
Think about monitoring your day, your time, your workload, the impact of your work on your home life, and vice versa. So taking breaks and switching off and reenergising. Things like planning can minimize your stress if you have got your plans on there. Set a goal for each day. Focus on the journey towards the goal so that it can be mindful in the present moment. We emphasize too much on the goal and try not to be, self-critical, you have to be proud of your achievements because there’s less interaction with others.
We need to rely on ourselves more for praise and motivation. Patting yourself on the back! But a little tip would be to say at the end of the day, write down something good that you’ve achieved, something positive, and then read that to yourself at the start of the next day. And then at the end of the week, if it’s a five-day week, you’ve got five positive things to start the following week. It just gives you a boost and support. If you’re struggling, there’s so much help and support out there.
You can write things down at the end of the day
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It depends on what people like, but some people love journaling, it doesn’t have to be much, just a tiny post-it note with, “I read all my emails today”.
Just something very simple. It doesn’t have to be much – “I contacted that difficult client” or “I got that sale”.
Don’t focus on the negative, just on the positive, and then at the start of the next day you’ve got something good to think about.
Remember to keep communicating. If you’re working from home or if you’re alone, no one can see the change in you and no one knows if you having a bad day. So you need to tell people how your feeling, which can be hard. Karen recommends having as many visual contacts as possible. We’ve got all this technology – Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp etc, it’s very tempting to just email and text, but phoning or video calls is more inclusive and positive.
How are you feeling atm? Is home working starting to drive you mad or have you found your inner zen during the lockdowns of 2020?
Matthew Kendall
Founder of Newtons of Bury. Rethinking property management with Newtons Estates. Helping pollinators with Bury Bee Co. Aiding those in need with apresShower Dryer.