Introduction and the importance of talking about mental health and wellbeing. Introduce the concept of a foundation for good wellbeing – exercise, nutrition, sleep and managing stress.
Transcript
Hi, my name’s Kirstin. I’m a social worker who’s been working with contractors and staff affected by the native timber industry shutdown since 2020. Prior to this, I’ve been providing training and education to truck drivers across Australia about how to maintain concentration and attention during shifts to minimize their risk of accidents. Outside of this industry, I’ve worked in the justice system and in public and community health.
As a social worker, clinician, and counselor, my aim is to provide education and tips and tricks on how to manage your mental wellbeing while you’re navigating your personal situation. As a result of the industry shutdown, I know that this process has been long, stressful and full of uncertainty, and this can have a massive impact on our wellbeing and how we manage our stress. Often when people think about mental health, they think about mental illness, but I see it differently.
I think that everyone has mental health in the way that we have physical health. Sometimes when things are going well, we don’t really need to think about it, but when things are rough, it’s important for us to take care of it a bit better.
When we’re experiencing a big loss or change, it can feel really out of our control. Particularly with this process, you’re all relying on the government and your coordinators at Forest Works to help you to think about what’s gonna happen next for you and your family.
So today I wanna chat about focusing on what we can control. We can’t individually affect the government’s decision, nor the messaging being put out by the news and social media.
We often can’t affect the negative stuff being spoken about the industry, and we may not have a lot of control about our jobs, and that can mean that we feel pretty stressed out and that can affect our personal lives and our relationships.
You may feel that you’re find that you’re feeling all over the place or really p****d off and angry. You might be feeling pretty detached and numb, not wanting to think about it, not wanting to talk about it.
You might be drinking more, seeing mates less, having more arguments at home with your partner or kids, and your work might be suffering. Maybe you’re finding it hard to concentrate or to make good decisions.
In this case, I recommend focusing on what we can control. We can control aspects of our health and wellbeing, making sure we’re eating right, exercising, playing sport, getting outside, and doing something that you love. Maybe it’s fishing, hunting, camping, playing, or watching sport or hanging out with your friends and family.
Often in times of change we can isolate ourselves or may not prioritize the things that we enjoy or help us to blow off steam. Even getting some career or financial advice and assistance can be helpful.
Getting more information about what might be good for our situation can help us to feel more in control. And on top of our situation. Often our sleep suffers as well.
Heaps of people talk about finding it tough to get to sleep or stay asleep. I’ll talk about sleep in another video because I think it’s something that a lot of people struggle with. But for this week, try thinking about the things that help you to feel better physically and socially. If you haven’t been eating well or or drinking enough water, focus on that. If your sleep sucks, try prioritizing it.
If you haven’t had time for your mates or family, plan something fun to do together, give this a go and let me know in the comments if they’ve made a difference to how you’re feeling and acting this week.