The month of April is already upon us and brings with it the very topical Stress Awareness Month. Millions around the UK are experiencing high levels of stress and it is damaging our health in more ways than one. Did you know that stress is a significant contributing factor to a wide range of physical and mental health problems? Some of these problems include heart disease, problems with our immune system, insomnia and digestive problems and depression and anxiety to name a few.
Health and care workers particularly have been under extraordinary pressure facing unprecedented challenges: working in unfamiliar environments, with reduced staffing levels, and learning new skills, not to mention the added worry of their own family’s health and wellbeing. Alongside this we know people are facing increasing levels of stress outside of the workplace for a number of reasons such as increased living costs, fear and worry about the devastating conflict in Ukraine and a whole range of other factors.
The good news is there are things you can do to alleviate your stress. As well as your line manager there are fantastic teams in the workplace who can help including Occupational Health, Health and Wellbeing Teams, Wellbeing Champions and much more. We understand it can sometimes be difficult to know where to look for support so here is some examples of what’s available to all health, care and emergency service staff living and working in Humber and North Yorkshire:
- Sleep focused webinars delivered by The Sleep School covering everything from techniques to help you wind down/ fall asleep and wake up refreshed to psychological flexibility sessions providing you with evidence-based tips to effectively manage stress
- Stress/ Trauma Recovery workshops, facilitated by trauma-integrated therapists and experts in their fields of mental health recovery. A number of sessions on a variety of different topics will be running until June
- A financial wellbeing workshop is taking place in May- the session will discuss budgeting, saving, preparing for retirement, and where to get help with your finances.
- Menopause workshops where participants will gain confidence in having supportive conversations around menopause and how to get the right support together including the important role a partner, team or family member can play in supporting someone through menopause.
- Looking after you too. We recognise that our frontline primary care colleagues, both clinical and non-clinical, are continuing to work hard caring for their patients. Individual coaching is available with a skilled and experienced coach who will work with you to discuss any area of your wellbeing that you would like to address. They will listen, ask questions and support you to develop practical strategies to cope with your situation and stay well.
There are also some great self-help tips on the Stress Management Society website. You can book onto the workshops listed above by visiting www.bookwhen.com/hcv.
For 1-to-1 support with your mental health and any emotional difficulties you may be experiencing and which you feel you need some help with, whether they are work-related or not- please contact the Resilience Hub by emailing tewv.hcv-resiliencehub@nhs.net or by calling 03300 022 044.
For anything else please contact your organisational health and wellbeing team or hcv.wellbeing@nhs.net, we would like to hear what works for you and any tips you might want to share with others.