mind - Blogs - DPG Community2024-03-29T11:49:47Zhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/feed/tag/mind6 tips for good mental health at workhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/6-tips-for-good-mental-health-at-work-12018-05-20T10:03:44.000Z2018-05-20T10:03:44.000ZRichy Campbellhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/RichyCampbell<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/125316989?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Most people are aware that mental health problems are prevalent in society. This particularly extends to the workplace. According to <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thriving-at-work-a-review-of-mental-health-and-employers">Thriving at Work</a>, a government study from 2017, 300,000 people a year lose their job due to poor mental health. The authors, Paul Farmer and Dennis Stevenson, were also shocked to find that the number of people stopping work from mental health problems was 50% higher than people with physical ailments.</p><p>In light of this, there are a number of things you can do to improve your mental health in the workplace:</p><ul><li><strong>Go for a walk on your lunch break.</strong> Countless studies allude to the benefits of exercise on mental well-being. Use your hour to leave the office and fully break from work.</li><li><strong>Take action at an early stage.</strong> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health.htm">The Health Executive</a> recommends that the sooner you report a problem, the better. It can stop the situation getting worse.</li><li><strong>Ask for help.</strong> Talk to your manager or HR about counselling opportunities that your company may provide.</li><li><strong>Create boundaries between work and home.</strong> <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-yourself/five-ways-to-wellbeing/">MIND recommends</a> that if you need to bring work home, you should assign a separate area for it. This will make it much easier to switch off from work.</li><li><strong>Know your rights.</strong> If you experience discrimination in the workplace, you should know what your rights are and what help you can get. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/legal-rights/discrimination-at-work/useful-contacts/#.WvlEEKQvwdU">MIND has a list of bodies you can consult</a>, including <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice">Civil Legal Advice (CLA)</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/employment-tribunal">The Employment Tribunal</a>.</li><li><strong>Connect with people.</strong> Talk to trusted work colleagues about your issues, or arrange to meet up for lunch. As social animals, humans thrive on interaction and connection.</li></ul><p>Charities such as MIND and the Samaritans have a wealth of resources that you can use, including support. You should also contact your GP if you are struggling.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.mind.org.uk">https://www.mind.org.uk</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth/Pages/Mentalhealthhome.aspx">https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth/Pages/Mentalhealthhome.aspx</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_96G5d6E2wIVBrXtCh34wAbhEAAYAiAAEgIwE_D_BwE">https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_96G5d6E2wIVBrXtCh34wAbhEAAYAiAAEgIwE_D_BwE</a></p></div>Stress at work is good, apparently... sometimeshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/stress-at-work-is-good-apparently-sometimes2018-01-29T14:26:38.000Z2018-01-29T14:26:38.000ZGary Norrishttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/GaryNorris<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217485?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Stress at work is good, apparently ... sometimes</p>
<p>This all depends on the mindset of the individual:</p>
<p><em>"For employees with a positive stress mindset, there was an association between expecting a larger workload and taking more proactive steps to cope... But for those with a negative stress mindset, this association was reversed"</em></p>
<p>So says the article 'What's your stress mindset?' at digest.bps.org.uk</p>
<p>I've radically shortened that paragraph from the original source as I really want you to want to read the full article. It talks about a recent study at the University of Mannheim led by Anne Casper, where it was shown that stress wasn't so much the pivotal factor in motivation and energy levels at work but more so the mindset the individual has towards stress. </p>
<p><em>"Casper and her colleagues said their new results show the benefits that could come from raising people’s awareness of the concept of stress mindset. Promisingly, they said there is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23437923">some evidence</a> that people can be helped to develop a positive stress mindset."</em></p>
<p><a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/01/05/whats-your-stress-mindset/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the article on The British Psychological Society website be clicking here</a></p>
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<p>One of the things I appreciate about these BPS article is the critical thinking approach: towards the end of the articles there is generally an evaluation of the data where caveats and limitations are acknowledged. If I could make an additional recommendation to anyone <em>studying</em> at DPG it is to look at how they do this to evaluate any research they present. As students, having the ability to do this can make a huge difference to the standard of your submissions.</p>
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<p>P.S. Another thing I noticed is that, when I used the word 'stress' to search for an accompanying image to this post, almost all the images depict stress as a negative thing. Should that now change?</p>
<p>There were also a <em>lot</em> of images of fidget spinners, but let's not go there.</p>
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