Business Wellbeing

Hi everyone. My name is Leah, and I am a Mental Health Consultant with Partners In Wellbeing. I am delighted to be sending through an article for the newsletter in the hope that I can share some insights that may be of benefit to you. In this article, my focus is on sleep, exercise, and nutrition.

During times of overwhelm, I can link my inability to cope with lack of exercise, sleep, and not paying attention to what I am eating. I know that when I walk in the morning, I cope better with whatever happens during the day. When I am burning the candle at both ends, my irritability rises, and I begin to micromanage everything. My interactions become less respectful and more reactive than responsive. When under pressure, I am less likely to prepare healthy and nutritious meals and will drink more coffee. These work against my ability to cope when life becomes busy.

Operating under sleep deprivation can be viewed as a badge of honour, a way to let others know how hard you work. However, when sleep-deprived, people are often irritable, lose focus, and have difficulty concentrating, processing and remembering information. There are many benefits in assessing one’s sleep hygiene and trying different techniques to ensure the recommended seven hours per night of adequate sleep. It is useful to assess boundaries while attempting to sleep to see if you are thinking about work or other stressors in your life. See this link for more sleep hygiene details. Sleep hygiene – Better Health Channel

Exercise and nutritional food give us more energy, clarity of thoughts and improve mental well-being. When these elements are not addressed, mental health becomes unbalanced, and you can become stressed and overwhelmed. Our bodies are designed to move and regularly partake in physical activity. Physical activity challenges poor mental health and increases a positive aging process, alleviates sedentary lifestyles, and improves symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Nutrition plays a role in well-being. Paying attention to foods not conducive to gut health can alleviate sleepiness and avoid feeling heavy and unwell after a meal. Going into a meeting or serving customers after the wrong meal can be uncomfortable. Understanding gut health and what your body can tolerate can improve overall well-being. Pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Take care everyone, and please reach out if you are in need of support.

References

Hersh, M. A. (2022a). Biological foundations of self-care I: Sleep and breath. American Psychological Association EBooks, 267–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000309-025

Hersh, M. A. (2022b). Biological foundations of self-care II: Movement and nutrition. American Psychological Association EBooks, 285–297. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000309-026

Life Line Crisis Support Services

Phone 13 11 14 available 24 hours / 7 days – Australia’s largest crisis support line. Anyone in Australia can speak to a trained Crisis Supporter over the phone, any time of the day or night.
Lifeline Text 0477 131 114 available nightly – Australia’s first SMS-based Crisis Support service, any person in Australia can receive support from a Crisis Supporter by text message every night.
Online chat available nightly – The online chat service is available for people who prefer to type than talk. Any person in Australia can chat with a Crisis Supporter through the Lifeline Australia website each night.

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 All calls and conversations are one-on-one with a trained mental health professional, and completely confidential. Although you may be asked for your first name and some general details, you can let the service know if you’d like to remain anonymous.

Q Life: 1800 184 527 Q Life provides Australia wide anonymous LGBTQI peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about a range issue including sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings and relationships. Q Life is free and includes both telephone and webchat support

Standby Support After Suicide: 24/7 Phone Support: 1300 727 247 The StandBy Service is free and confidential and stands by families, friends and associates impacted by suicide, providing respect, understanding and support for their health and wellbeing. This service is available to you regardless of when your loss occurred.

LOCAL SUPPORTS

In Person and Phone: Albury Wodonga Mental Health Triage line: 1300 104 211. Which is for people experiencing mental health issues that they feel they cannot manage and require immediate assistance with.

Albury Wodonga Health: 02 6051 7408 A free and confidential counselling service for adults in the Albury Wodonga region. Self and professional referrals are welcomed.

Business Wodonga has partnered with the EACH ‘Partners in Wellbeing – Small Business Wellbeing Program’, and we introduce Leah as the Mental Health Consultant for this initiative.

The Small business Wellbeing team at EACH provides financial counselling, business advice and psychological wellbeing support to small business owners, their staff, and families.

This is a free and confidential service which includes:

Individual and/or group mental health and wellbeing support for people presenting with concerns and anxiety about their business or job. This also encompasses family members of the employee or business owner.
Rapid response from a financial counsellor who can provide advice and assistance regarding financial issues including debt and grant eligibility.
Wellbeing education sessions and workshops tailored to your need.

Some standard training packages that will be on offer:

Psychological First Aid
Having Difficult Conversations
Managing Conflict in the Workplace
Supporting Each Other Through Change

Leah‘s Contact Details:

To speak to Leah, call 1300 375 330 or you can contact Leah by email [email protected]. This is a free service. Leah can attend your workspace, meet in a café or in a private space at the Business Wodonga office.

If you require urgent mental health support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue 1300 224 636 or emergency services on 000