Newsletter 85 – early Summer 2016 feature Mental Health Awareness

Welcome to the early Summer 2016 edition of In Equilibrium.

We love it when you get in touch with your tips and experiences, read on to find out the reason for this edition's introductory image  ...

 "Why looking at fine art is good for you"

Mandy Pryde of the National Trust for Scotland let us know about a study which took place in a church in Italy.

Researchers found that cortisol levels (the stress hormone) of the 100 volunteers fell, on average by 60%, after they had viewed the frescoes within the church and 90% of the participants said they felt much better for the experience.

You can see why the study would have caught Mandy's attention as we suspect many of us have unknowingly experienced the same drop in our cortisol levels after visiting one of the many properties which the National Trust for Scotland conserve and protect, adding a further benefit for us all in the wonderful work they do.

We hope that our introductory picture has had a suitably cortisone reducing effect, and that you are now ready to sit back and read our latest newsletter which contains:

• A round-up of our recent blog posts which include the titles 'How to develop team resilience' and 'How to switch off after work'
• A practical stress tip which may help you to hold your nerve by reducing your anxiety
• A link to a report on how to improve line managers' ability to manage mental wellbeing at work for both themselves and the members of their team
• An external Ask the Expert looking at the stressful effect a promotion can have
• A story about loyalty which might tug on your heartstrings

Details about all our courses and Resources are available on our website.

In Equilibrium News

NEW Mindfulness Resources

Following their attendance on one of our Mindfulness courses, many participants mention that they would like to do some further reading on this fascinating topic.  So, for them and all our website visitors, we have recently created a page which focusses on useful information and tips on the subject of mindfulness.

Social Media

We regularly post news and links which we think will be of interest to our followers on both Facebook and Twitter.  Please feel free to join our conversations, we welcome any likes and comments will always receive a response!

We're also very grateful to those of you who use the "Click here to share our newsletter with a colleague" button when you receive our e-newsletter.  Our readership is steadily growing from year to year and this proves to be a helpful method of ensuring it is sent to those who welcome it and hopefully find it of benefit.  If you don't already receive our newsletter by email and would like to sign up, you can do so here ...

Recent Articles Added To Our Blog

How resilience training can benefit organisational change

How to develop team resilience

Resilience courses – a roundup of the courses we can offer

Winter course locations – a taste of where our trainers have been these past few months

We have added one further article to our series of articles on aspects of resilience:

• • • Resilience Skills: purpose or meaning - What gets you out of bed in the morning?

This introductory blog provides links to a series of 6 short hints and tips articles:

• • • Stress Management Tips : How to switch off after work

Stress Management Tip

A practical tip to reduce anxiety

Read our stress management tip here

Read our tips archive here

Ask the Expert

As you'll know if you're a regular reader of this column, it usually consists of a reader's question which is then answered by one of our talented trainers.

However, on this occasion, we read an article which we thought offered some valuable advice and practical tips on the topic of work stress and felt it would be a useful item to share.

The question aired was from someone who found themselves really struggling with work stress since a recent promotion.

Read the Ask the Expert Q & A here ...

If you found the answer helpful you may be interested in the following courses:

Developing Personal Resilience

Mindfulness for Performance and Wellbeing

Amanda's Column

All around her is talk of exams which leads Amanda to muse on a quote from 'Macbeth'...

Read Amanda's column

The archive of Amanda's column is available here ...

Resources

A printable leaflet on relationships and a link to a report about improving mental health issues in the workplace are featured.

Click here to see this edition's resources

Quotations

"Nobody can hurt me without my permission"
Mahatma Ghandi, Lawyer and Primary Leader of India's Independence Movement
1869 - 1948

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."
Kahlil Gibrani, Lebanese-American artist, poet and author
1883 – 1931

News from the Outside

Click here to see the following selection of articles:

• • • 7 tricks for staying calm in stressful situations
    • Help your team manage stress, anxiety and burnout
    • Delivering an effective wellbeing strategy: Why it matters
    • Wellbeing for GP's: How the workplace wellbeing charter could help practices
    • What to eat to beat stress: Asparagus and 7 other foods to keep tensions at bay
    • A heart-warming story about the relationship between humans and their canine companions

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.  We are always delighted to hear from our readers, so if you would like to share your comments or suggestions with us, please don't hesitate to contact us at: [email protected].