We all need a feel good factor. I’d recommend that you go and see Paddington 2 for a good many lessons about mental health and resilience at work this winter. Plus it’s a hilarious movie that will have you laughing and crying (if you’re like me!).

However Christmas is not a cheery time for everyone. It’s a time where carers get stressed, as they see their relatives over Christmas and realise that their parents or grandparents are not doing as well as they said on the phone. It’s a time when NHS 24 get more calls than ever, half from family members, who now need to urgently sort out the care for their relatives.

It’s a time when your bank balance has run out of cash. One of the most stressful time for working parents.

It’s a time when these pressures show up at work. It could be the office Christmas party that revealed too much, or got you to reveal too much. Ugly sides of the workplace culture can come out, workplace bullying, LGBTi, age related intimidation. Those that are part of the ‘@metoo campaign may find the office party difficult. Whatever the reason for playground politics breaking out, this means that those who have been traumatised in their childhood can end wanting to hide under a rock for Christmas.

So here are a few good tips you can see in the Paddington 2 movie…(which are also in our Personal Resilience course)

1. Do a good deed. If you can’t do a good deed, then be a good deed, go and watch Paddington 2, take someone with you. These are the ways of looking after your mental wellbeing. You could become a befriending volunteer with www.Health-in-mind.org.uk

2. Have fun fundraising. Sing a carol with us, take on a marathon or abseil the Forth Rail Bridgeor. If you want to help have fun fundraising with us, contact lynne.stanford@health-in-mind.org.uk 0131 225 8508

3. Write a Journal. Letting out and being aware of what you are noticing and feeling.

4. Find a friend you can be with over Christmas period, by phone or in person. Also recommend to folk who are lonely the various helplines like Breathing Space 0800838587

5. Develop your workplace relationships. Paws for a moment and have a cup of coffee with a mince pie with a colleague. People in your workplace are a relief from the family/home anxiety, and you can be a relief for them from their family/ home anxiety. For some not being at work for two weeks can be tough.

6. Read a good book. Including about ‘being’ in the workplace. Such as ‘Work as a Spiritual Practice’, by Richard Lewis, this is hilarious with its Paddington type stories. Or something that will give you some thoughts for next year in how to develop your resilience at work, such as, ‘The Emotionally Intelligent Leader’ by Daniel Goleman.

7. Keep a Boundary between home and work. Switch off when not at work. Whatever the communication devices are, decide when and where you are actually at work and when you’re at home.

8. Don’t attempt to do other people’s work for them, it doesn’t work.
Be clear about what you can do in your role and responsibilities and what you cannot do because it is the responsibility of others. As you set your goals at work for 2018, think hard about what your role can do, and what it is not your role to do.

The more resilient at work you can be, the more secure you will feel in other parts of your life. Securing income and having a sense of what the economists call an ‘income maintenance system’ can enable you to relax and enjoy the relatives. Employment is the most significant protective factor for mental wellbeing.

Paddington never doubted that the Browns would be there for him…

If you would like to have any training courses about mental health and resilience, contact Duncan Wallace, Learning and Development Coordinator, Health in Mind, new member of Chamber of Commerce, E duncan.wallace@health-in-mind.org.uk