youmatter by Life on Time

Dr Bear discusses simple strategies for teachers to support any students they think may be struggling emotionally.

Dr Bear discusses effective methods when using wellbeing data (such as reported mood or wellbeing survey results).

Dr Bear talks about how teachers can prioritise their own wellbeing in such a demanding role which is often focused on others.

Jez talks to Dr Bear about loneliness. Is it simply a feeling or is it deeper than that? Can it be categorised? How has the pandemic and social media affected its prominence and what can be done to reduce the negative feelings associated with it?

Loneliness is the theme of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week.

Sometimes our thoughts can play havoc with how we feel. They can make us go round in circles with worry and on occasion they can make us feel anxious and sad. If you sometimes get easily hooked by thoughts which bother you, then you are not alone.  This 5 minute episode can help you learn to live with unhelpful thoughts so you can get on and live your best life.

In this 5 minute episode we will be sharing a breathing technique used by the navy seals to help them stay calm and focused in tense situations.

Focusing on our breathing is the simplest and most natural way to calm our mind and body. With practice this technique can help you focus and keep you calm and can also be adapted to help you relax and elicit sleep. In this episode I will be sharing a breathing technique used by the navy seals to help them stay calm and focused in tense situations.

Focusing on our breathing is the simplest and most natural way to calm our mind and body. With practice this technique can help you focus and keep you calm and can also be adapted to help you relax and elicit sleep.

In this short 5 minute episode Jon gives 3 simple tips to help you get through the new imposed lockdown.   We thought it was a good time to offer some simple goal setting tips to limit its effect on your mindset and wellbeing. This pandemic has taken one key thing from all of us and that’s our sense of ‘control’.  The reduction in our sense of control and certainty in the future breeds stress and anxiety.

So, in order to reduce this effect we need to get some control and certainty back. While we can’t be sure of the long term future, we can be more sure of the immediate future which is why we need to direct our attention on to short term goals. Goal setting is well known for improving performance and motivation but it also can be used to effectively improve wellbeing when your circumstances drastically change. 

In this 8 minute episode Jon gives 4 ideas to help people cope with the continued uncertainty and stress created by the pandemic.  The current Covid-19 has robbed us of the certainty and security that we are used to. We have all been pushed into changes to our natural routines and ways of living. Each of these changes may not seem sufficient to lead to people struggling, but as you start adding up all the minor tweaks along with bigger changes the stress and pressure build up. Add to this that for lots of us our usual coping strategies may be interrupted; the time and space we have for ourselves is diminished, and our ability to cope becomes more difficult.

Teachers and all school staff have all been pushed out of their comfort zones, in an already stressful job. Modifications to ways of working, being asked to be present in a personally more risky situation, being shifted from existing support mechanisms, the list goes on. Teacher’s aren’t just being asked to manage their own difficulties during this time, they inevitably act as emotional containers for students, parents, colleagues and their own families.

It feels an apt time to look at ways we can minimise the impact of all the considerable stresses school staff are facing. We offer the following ideas, not as a recipe to resolve all stress, but to prompt people to reflect on their own self-care and what they may be able to do to better look after their own needs when they are being pushed and pulled in so many different directions.

Written by Dr Bear and Jon Ford 

In this short 4 minute episode you can find out how simply asking yourself positive questions can lift your mood.  Created by Jon Ford and Dr Bear. 

In this 5 minute episode our resident clinical psychologist Dr Bear gives an introduction into mindfulness.  All you need is your attention, a chair and 5  minutes  #becauseyoumatter