Glen Education Newsletter

Preventing Burnout

Mental Fitness Activities

Tania Peroni, Facilities and Compliance Manager

 

While the last 6 months has been trying times for many, myself included. I recently attended a session of how to avoid COVID-19 burnout, hosted by GEKA’s partner Family Life. 

 

The session focused on mental fitness activities in a time when we feel that there is no end in sight and a time filled with so much change and uncertainly. The session focused on how mental health impacts our overall wellbeing during COVID. It highlighted what we already know about the importance of daily practices of mental health activities and how our practices assist us greatly in keeping our wellbeing in check. 

What drives wellbeing?

  • 50% - 80%   - Personality Driven
  • 5% - 15%     - Life circumstances accepted
  • 15% - 40%   - Activities undertaken

Our habits play a huge role in our wellbeing.  Prior to COIVD, we have all been guilty of being time poor, filling our calendars to capacity and being on the go constantly. If there was a positive that has come with the pandemic, in my view, the way it has given us no choice but to slow down. Personally, the pandemic has given me time to reflect on my lifestyle and what areas of change I can implement moving forward.  

 

A few Educators have shared their insights with me on how the pandemic has made them try new things such as, art and craft, gardening and scrap booking. All the things that we simply “had no time for” prior to COVID. Positivity, happiness and sense of accomplishment that has come with rediscovering a hobby that they once enjoyed, but had no time for. Wellbeing, is exactly that!

 

Carrying out an activity that gives you a sense of joy leads to positive emotions, which allows for greater brain space and in turn releases dopamine (Dopamine is involved in neurological and physiological functioning. It’s a contributing factor in motor function, mood, and even our decision making) and leaves you feeling GREAT!

 

The research shows that there are four components to mental fitness and by excising these important areas each day, assists us in keeping our mind at “fitness” optimum levels.

 

Mind

Practice mindfulness daily with meditation, wellbeing apps, podcasts etc. Practice gratitude and train your mind to focus on the positives. I have become extremely diligent in this practice and can confirm the positive impacts this has had on my mental wellbeing.

Body

This is no secret.  Nutrition and Exercise go hand in hand. We all know that living a well-balanced, healthy diet and getting out, even for a short walk, goes a long way in keeping our thoughts and minds in check. 

 

Sleep is also vital to our wellbeing.  

By having a good night’s sleep or enough hours of sleep, helps us to feel refreshed for the next day. If we experience a good night’s sleep, our minds are ready to tackle the day ahead and we can rationalise and focus on our tasks with optimism. 

 

During and post the pandemic, getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult, given all the uncertainly that we are experiencing. While I felt exhausted and sluggish at the peak of the pandemic and struggling to get a full nights solid sleep, I knew that I needed to make some drastic changes before I fell into a heap!

I practiced the same ritual, without interruption, every single evening before bed. It’s been months now of the same 5 steps each evening and I can confirm how a small change has made such a positive impact on me!

  1. I kept my room dark ( just the lamp on)
  2. Turn on my diffuser with a few drops of lavender essential oil.
  3. I take a warm to hot shower (or bath if you prefer)
  4. I get comfortable and think of one thing that I’m grateful for or a positive experience that occurred throughout the day and I document that in my journal.
  5. I then practice 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness – relaxing my mind and body. Sometimes I meditate, read or listen to gentle, soft music – I like to mix it up.

Try practising a similar ritual every evening, it works wonders for me and one that I will continue on with post COVID.

Spirit

What is good for your soul? Nature! And for me it’s the BEACH! Unfortunately, I don’t live in Bayside, so I have really missed the water and the sand these last 6 months. Instead, I have focused my attention to parks. I have a large local park close to my home, which I have been too busy to explore. Needed to get out and breath the fresh air. I have now familiarised myself with several walking tracks in the local part. I have really enjoyed walking and exploring the green lush landscapes and the sounds of the birds chirping, so many different birds that I had never noticed, until now. Being out in nature is not only healthy, it works wonders in lighting our spirits and lightening our mood.

Community

If like me, the lack of social interaction has been a struggle, I hear you loud and clear! Staying connected is SO important, with a phone call or a zoom session. While I am grateful for the advances of technology allowing us to remain in touch with our friends and family, It simply is not the same!

 

I come from a European background and we greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, ALWAYS! I am a touchy, feely person and the 1.5 metres social distancing rule very quickly, left me with no choice but to change what I had practised my whole life. The lack of the physical touch and refraining from doing so, has been the hardest thing for me on a personal level by far. Yet, I have found a way to still manage the “feel good” feelings without the physical touch.  I have posted letters and cards of support to those who needed it, yes the old fashioned snail mail.

 

I have met new people by leaving THANK YOU notes on my front door for the delivery driver who drops off online purchases. It is amazing what impact a small, kind gesture can have on you as the giver and in return, the smile on the face of the receiver. The positive feedback I have received from these small gestures and the difference I had made to someone who needed a ‘boost’ or had a challenging day, left me feeling WONDERFUL, so I kept at it all day.

 

While, like many of you, I have struggled with the changes that have come with the pandemic. I have learnt to adjust my expectations and to be more realistic, as well as having an optimistic point of view. I have realised that COVID is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. Even if the finish line is a blur and it is difficult to see into the distance, It IS there and we WILL get to it. In the meantime lets focus our attention on rebuilding. 

 

The family life burnout session talked about rebuilding after COVID and the need for a staged approach in order to give people time to consolidate. During these times, we need to remain agile as it is difficult to plan ahead.

 

When rebuilding, we need to take a staged approach to changes rather than implement any changes in a hurry. Let’s take a step by step approach, having regular and open communication with one another to facilitate change. Provide leadership to your teams and be a positive leader. 

 

Lastly and most importantly, acknowledge stress. Your stress, your colleagues stress, a family or child’s stress. These are stressful times and everyone is experiencing some sort of anxiety, and when ignored it can manifest into something more. We need to protect and place an increased emphasis on our own mental health and wellbeing and that of others where we can. Keep the conversations going, ensure you practice a healthy work life balance.

 

We look forward to bringing people together to enjoy the social interactions we have all missed for the most part in 2020 come 2021. I for one cannot wait!

Stay safe and keep well.

 

Rebecca Ellin - Human Resources

I felt fortunate that GEKA gave me the opportunity to participate in a Mental health and well being webinar, I found it really helpful, especially during COVID times.

  • It was interesting to learn about the short and long term impacts of isolation and how it can affect us psychologically. Being aware of the effects enables us to be more self-aware and identify when we need to take action to take care of our mental health. I’ve probably experienced emotional disturbance, stress and emotional exhaustion the most out of the short term. Understanding this has enabled me to better identify when I need to take some time out and look after myself.
     
  • I think it was important to note that Dr Carbone mentioned less people are taking holidays and therefore they are not utilising their annual leave. Combined with blurring of work/life boundaries this can be a huge risk factor for burnout. This is a reminder for us all that annual leave is for us to use when we need a break, not just when we are taking a holiday. It is important for us to be able to take time for ourselves now more than ever.
     
  • The most important thing I learned, not only in the webinar but also from the pandemic experience is to only worry about what I can control. I can control how I look after myself physically and mentally, I can control how often I watch the news, I can control what I consume that may exacerbate my own anxiety. This is the most important thing we can do to manage our own mental health during the pandemic.