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Lisa Jones, Psychotherapist and Health Coach at Headstrong Training<\/a> recently presented to BASDA members during one of the series of online sessions offering a platform for members to discuss and share COVID-19 experiences. Her guest blog discusses mental health and resilience and how to promote wellbeing amongst your staff and organisation.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mental Health is a topic that is being increasingly spoken about and especially given the current circumstances. More and more people are beginning to understand and appreciate just how important it is to look after our mental wellbeing. Historically there have been, and still are, negative associations with the term \u2018mental health\u2019 as most people tend to think of mental illness<\/em> rather than health. This is an unhelpful association and I want to redress this by exploring what it actually means and most importantly, what we all can do about it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018No Health without Mental Health\u2019[1]<\/a> defines mental health as a positive state of mind and body, feeling safe and able to cope with a sense of connection with people, communities and the wider environment.\u2019 \u00a0This is a positive definition of mental health that addresses how multiple interlinking factors influence our overall state of mind and wellbeing. This concept can be broken down further and the following definitions explain the concepts of mental wellbeing and mental capital helping us identify resources we can build upon.<\/p>\n Mental wellbeing[2]<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 This is a dynamic state, in which the individual is able to develop their potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others, and contribute to their community.\u00a0 It is enhanced when an individual is able to fulfil their personal and social goals and achieve a sense of purpose in society.<\/p>\n Mental Capital[3]<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 This encompasses a person\u2019s cognitive and emotional resources.\u00a0 It includes their cognitive ability, how flexible and efficient they are at learning, and their \u201cemotional intelligence\u201d such as their social skills and resilience in the face of stress.\u00a0 It therefore conditions how well a person is able to contribute effectively to society, and also to experience a high personal quality of life.<\/p>\n By breaking mental health down into the concept of functional<\/em> wellbeing and the mental resources or capital <\/em>available, we can start to think of mental health as a dynamic process that ebbs and flows in different ways depending on the particular context we find ourselves in and the resources we have available at the time.<\/p>\n As we can see from these definitions, many factors contribute to our mental health but perhaps the biggest challenge to our mental health is stress.<\/p>\n Stress is a word that we hear all the time and is commonly used by many age groups to describe many different scenarios and feelings, but what is it?\u00a0 Stress is a term that originates from engineering and refers to the response of a system to an applied force.\u00a0 For us humans, it is related to when we perceive<\/em> a threat, challenge or harm\/loss[4]<\/a>.\u00a0 When this happens, it triggers a response in our autonomic nervous system, commonly known as the fight or flight response and explains why we experience and feel stress physically.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that stress itself is normal and we actually need some stress in order to be motivated and driven. It is when we experience too much stress for too long that it becomes a problem as our autonomic nervous system is designed to manage short-term threat, challenge or harm\/loss.\u00a0 When the stress response is activated for prolonged periods it can seriously impact our health and wellbeing, physically, mentally and emotionally.<\/p>\n Knowing that prolonged stress can be detrimental to our wellbeing, we need to understand our own triggers, how to recognise signs and symptoms of stress in ourselves and how to manage it. The best way to do this is by building resilience \u2013 it is resilience that enables us to manage stress, adversity and life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n Resilience is a hot topic at the moment and another word that is frequently and commonly used in many contexts. We know that building resiliency is essential for being able to manage life\u2019s challenges and stressors, but what does it actually mean? In the context of mental health and wellbeing as described above, the definition of resilience that I have found most helpful is that provided by Pemberton (2015),<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings and behaviours when faced by a life disruption or extended periods of pressure so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser and more able.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Resilience is not just about bouncing back, a metaphor most commonly associated with resilience, it is far more complex than this. It is about understanding our thought processes, how they are linked to our feelings and behaviours and learning from the challenges that we face. Resilience, therefore, is about personal flexibility, growth and change.<\/p>\n Thinking back to our Mental Health, you will notice that all these themes are interlinked and affect one another. It is when we are faced with prolonged periods of stress or pressure that our mental health can be negatively impacted just as our physical health would be as well. However, if we look after our brain health and wellbeing, learn to self-care and take time to keep our resiliency reserves topped up, most ill-health can be prevented.<\/p>\n A good place to start is by developing your emotional awareness and starting to understand what your individual triggers and stress responses are. In general terms, there are a few basics that we can all do to reduce stress, increase resilience and strengthen mental health. These are getting enough sleep, eating well, moving our bodies, connecting with others socially, keeping our brains active through learning new skills and allowing yourself time to relax and have downtime.<\/p>\n At HeadStrong Training<\/a>, we are passionate about reducing the stigma around Mental Health and Stress. Our mission is to help people fully understand the concepts of brain health, resilience and the foundations of wellbeing to enhance their potential and create long-lasting solutions to improve their lives.\u00a0 If you would like to know more about how to promote wellbeing amongst your staff and organisation, contact Lisa today for a free consultation \u2013 hello@headstrongtraining.co.uk<\/a> \u00a0Quote \u2018BASDA\u2019<\/p>\n If you are not already a member of\u00a0 BASDA and would like more information on how to become one, click\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for more information on how to join.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lisa Jones, Psychotherapist and Health Coach at Headstrong Training recently presented to BASDA members during one of the series of online sessions offering a platform for members to discuss and share COVID-19 experiences. Her guest blog discusses mental health and resilience and how to promote wellbeing amongst your staff and organisation. Mental Health is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"So, what is mental health?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Let\u2019s talk about stress\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
So, what is resilience?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What can you do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
[1]<\/a> No Health Without Mental Health: A Cross-Government Mental Health Outcomes Strategy for People of All Ages. 2011<\/h6>\n
[2]<\/a> Government office for Science: Mental Capital and Well-being 2008<\/h6>\n
[3]<\/a> Government office for Science: Mental Capital and Well-being 2008<\/h6>\n
[4]<\/a> Lazarus & Folkman, 1987<\/h6>\n
Great, free aid for businesses looking for guidance when purchasing payroll software<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nThis free<\/u><\/strong> Guide is available to download\u00a0at www.basda.org\/bsg<\/a>.\r\n\r\nFor many businesses payroll tends to be a specialised role with ever growing and changing demands \u2013 particularly regulatory.\u00a0 This includes the requirement to submit PAYE information (RTI) online to HRMC each time firms make a payroll payment, as well as meeting auto enrolment pension obligations. Consequently, the payroll process (and so, solution) must be compliant, easy to manage and fully integrated with HMRC\u2019s systems.\u00a0To help businesses who are seeking a simple, reliable, compliant and flexible payroll software solution, BASDA has leveraged its members\u2019 expertise to deliver this new guide.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis straightforward Guide is applicable to almost all businesses, including advisers such as accountants and bookkeepers, offering independent \u2018jargon-free\u2019 guidance on the key areas of concern for businesses when purchasing a payroll software solution.\r\n\r\nKevin Hart, Chairman of BASDA said: \"If you are (or will be) running payroll within your business, you need a capable and compliant payroll software solution to be assured that you are undertaking all your duties correctly (and effectively).\u00a0 Following the success of our suite of best practice guides on selecting Business Software, we have expanded these to include this valuable, independent and very digestible guide. We have again leveraged our collective knowledge of the subject, addressing key common questions asked by businesses to bring this free, invaluable reference aid to market for businesses of all shapes and sizes needing a little extra impartial help & guidance.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor more information about the suite of Selecting Software Guides click HERE<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\r\nIf you are not already a member of\u00a0 BASDA and would like more information on how to become one, click\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for more information on how to join.","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122,13,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b2b-marketing","category-basda-members","category-business-software"],"yoast_head":"\n