Building brain fitness Resilience Why what how….

Rainbow of health & wellbeing

The 3 levels of resilience 1.Personal resilience adapting in the face of adversity compassionately and functioning “normally.” Coping is how we deal with stressful events or stress itself, by attitudes or behaviours. Resilience is learning from this + moving on “normally”. 2.Community resilience Where communities thrive in the face of change or adversity as they adapt to fulfil their potential 3.Organisational resilience Enabling employees to be able to succeed personally and professionally in the midst of a high pressured, fast moving and continuously changing environment. Is even more important in challenging climates to enable the organisation to thrive

Elements of personal resilience

A volunteer’s story Jill attended the Auntie Pam’s volunteer recruitment and training process. Her 4 children were in foster care because of some poor lifestyle choices she had made. Jill was very quiet, lacking in confidence and self-esteem. She was trying to get the children back. So thought the support at Auntie Pam’s would help her and give her the opportunity to share her experiences, good and bad, with other women. Jill completed the training and built strong relationships with other volunteers and in time shared her experiences and listened to other volunteers’ experiences. Over 6 months Jill then accepted how her behaviour affected her children, she learnt from this insight, re-engaged with services and slowly built relationships with her children. The children returned to her care. Jill had some uncertain times where she needed to gain a more positive belief in her abilities as a mother and embrace the change that children bring. She has done this and over the last few months has blossomed - she looks healthy, happy and is taking care of herself and her family.

Resilience tips 1…..getting the brain fit Being adaptable i.e. able to improvise Accept reality Embrace change Keep learning from experience Problem solving and action Confidence and self esteem Positive belief in abilities Strong sense of self-worth Control in life Active in coping with adversity Be aware of emotions Take care of yourself Learning from adversity positively

Resilience tips 2….getting the brain fit Sense of purpose so every day is meaningful Proactive Positive thinking so remain hopeful Set goals Strong relationships and social support Able to ask for help Get connected Environment Be aware of what opportunities Work environment supportive?

The glue between us as individuals + others 3 parts of Compassion Motivated: “I want to help myself / you.” Emotional: “I recognise my emotions, I recognise yours.” Sympathy : moved emotionally by your emotions. Sensitivity : listening. Tolerance of distress: of others + mine. Thinking: “I understand myself / you.” Empathy : making sense of your feelings, + in response my emotions; non-judgmentally accept + validate your experience. Compassion creates the ambition for the greater good

Thinking about compassion Think about the differences between sympathy, empathy and compassion Then think about When I was compassionate (ie not just sympathetic or empathic) to AN Other What is memorable about it? How did it feel? When AN Other was compassionate to me What is memorable about it? How did it feel? Note down the words that come to your mind about these 2 experiences How can I practise this more?

Sophie suffers with ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) + chronic pain. When bad she can be completely immobile and cannot get out of bed for hours. Since having ME her weight has risen due to not being able to make healthy meals. So relied on pre-packaged microwaveable foods as they are easy to prepare. A health trainer visited Sophie to find out what her key issues were and what could be done to help her manage her health. The health trainer also helped Sophie to identify things that she did well. The health trainer helped Sophie to do more to help herself and address what is important to her. A programme was developed for Sophie which included relaxation techniques, how to pace her activities and how to have a more healthy balanced diet. Through working with the health trainer Sophie understands what to do if she experiences a set- back. She knows how to access information about her conditions for her to manage. Sophie feels much more confident and in control of herself and her long term health conditions as a result of the support she received and is now looking into becoming a volunteer.

Tips for being compassionate Look for commonalities: Seeing yourself as similar to others increases feelings of compassion. Calm your inner worrier:. The practice of mindfulness can help us feel safer in these situations, facilitating compassion. Encourage cooperation, not competition, even through subtle cues See people as individuals not abstractions Don’t play the blame game Notice and savour how good it feels to be compassionate. Get that brain fit! To cultivate compassion in kids, start by modelling kindness Curb inequality. Don’t be a sponge: be compassionate not sympathetic for your sanity

What can you do now..today, tomorrow? Write 3 things that have struck you from this morning then Think how you may Be compassionate even more than you are now? Be more resilient than you are now? What can u do in this workplace to help us build a more resilient workplace, organisation and people? Make a note to yourself just one thing that you are going to do today, tomorrow