Community can be construed in various ways and so any gathering of people, be it either at work, at home, in a friends or social circle can be our ‘community’. As a group we interact with one another. We share experiences, discuss matters, laugh, become passionate and even cry together. Our thoughts, emotions and opinions are shared within what could be called our ‘Tribe’ or our ‘Village’.
As a human being we want to feel safe and be among our ‘Tribe’. This is known technically as ‘psychological safety’ and is a vital part of our holistic wellbeing system. We also have our own internal set of values and beliefs. During every interaction, we feel emotions, we take on board opinions and will often conform to fit in. Anything that compromises our feeling of belonging or conflicts with our values, can cause us to feel unsafe. Therefore, while being in a community we are part of the tribe. If anything happens to us or the other members, then elements of danger and fractioning may happen.
We all naturally project an energy which can carry information like whether you are happy/sad or feeling positive or negative. We do this through how we behave, our body language, our words (and tone) and our facial expressions. Some people are more perceptive than others at picking this up and therefore can become influenced by others, not just through conversation, but by the energy emitted. Think of it like human Wi-Fi, where we connect, download or exchange information.
The impacts of stress
If you are stressed, it may feel that you are alone in your feelings, however this is not the case as the body will project that negative feeling in subtle ways. Others will pick up on it and the human Wi-Fi signal has now become biased. As stress levels increase, your body starts to alter; there will be more indications of how you are becoming compromised in your mental wellbeing and your general health. The longer it is ignored the more the negative feelings, emotions and health issues evolve. Just suppose it was like a barrel that continued to fill with stress and toxins. The level would rise and there would be a risk that the barrel could actually overflow.
As stress continues to increase and the barrel continues to fill, you will likely become more reserved and withdrawn. Your negative emotions become amplified with outbursts of upset, frustration and anger.
You see the world from a negative mindset and so all these characteristics then start to project outwards, and the Wi-Fi carries this to others. Depending on their state of wellbeing, they can feed off this and their barrel further fills too, or they may become defensive and repel against it. Either way, the community is becoming affected, and the tribe compromised. In plain terms we know and have experienced ‘energy vampires’ or ‘mood hoovers’ at parties or community gatherings, or at work.
If the community is in the workplace, then you may find it difficult to work with colleagues or your enthusiasm and drive become reduced. Your thinking and ability to process may diminish and so your productivity and performance drop too. Others may notice this and so feelings of embarrassment and guilt can evolve which further fill your barrel. This can lead to you questioning your abilities and so further stresses like that of imposter syndrome start to appear.
Your community at home will be affected too, no matter how much you may feel you try to hide it. Family can be very perceptive along with the displays of emotion you show which may be being short-tempered, intolerant and also avoiding people. The home balance shifts and people often then tread on eggshells trying not to cause situations. The ripple effect has now spread through the family, whether it is just with a partner, a family unit or close family around you.
The same happens in your circle of friends, where you start to avoid them or when with them you act similarly to when you are at work.
By you becoming reserved or withdrawn, negative and irrational, your tribe or community is affected. There is always a ripple effect outwards and so creates a negative spiral. The longer it is left unmanaged, the deeper and more serious it will become for both you and your community and your barrel will reach the point of overflowing. Nobody wants you to be at that point as further health issues can then happen.
So how do you stop the barrel overflowing? How do you stop your compromised wellbeing affect the community around you?
The solution is that it begins with awareness of where you are in yourself, and a commitment to self-care and understanding. If you can learn to recognise the signs, then early action can be taken to safeguard both you and in turn, your community.
Education is the key for both the individual and the community
Self-care is vital, after all, you know yourself better than anyone. By being aware of and understanding what is happening and recognising what can fill your barrel, you can then practice self-care.
Self-care is about having the skills and understanding to apply as and when required. Think of the skills as tools in your wellbeing toolbox. You can carry them with you, know which tool to use and when to use it.
By using these new tools to fit a tap to your barrel, you now have a way to empty it on a regular basis as well as recognising and avoiding what can potentially fill it. If the barrel is emptied, you feel better within yourself (both mentally and physically) and as we have identified, what you project out as your human Wi-Fi will be much improved and positive. The ripple effect is now a positive one that others pick up on and improves their day too. Now the community, whether at work, home or social, benefits from your improved wellbeing and positivity.
How Medigold Health Perform can help your community
Medigold Health is a leading Occupational Health company who can provide a full range of support for both health and mental wellbeing. With trained professionals and an extensive support network, a company or employer can feel confident that their staff are well cared for.
They also have a specialist team who operate the Perform sector of the company. Perform is a pro-active way for your staff to learn about their mental wellbeing through education and support. Those that attend the various training webinars or on-site presentations gain the vital tools in the wellbeing toolbox to be able to self-care. With a comprehensive range of mental wellbeing programmes that cater from shop floor to CEO, there is a programme structure suited to you and your community.
The tools include simple, rapid and effective exercises that create relaxation and positivity that can be utilised in the moment as well as changing how you think and using strategic procedures which can increase overall performance and efficiency.
If a company wants to enhance their own community and create a wellbeing policy and procedures, Medigold Health can assist with this too. With a wealth of experience and professionalism, we can cater for all your wellbeing needs. Your company will be assigned an Account Manager who will guide you through any staff health and welfare issues you may encounter and we can provide the best support required. We can even monitor your staff absenteeism and advise you on what needs to be addressed.
By having a happy and positive community in the workplace, performance, productivity and profits can all increase. By having staff who have good mental wellbeing they will feel better and so their general outlook and mood will be one of positivity. This then has a positive effect both at home and in their social circles too. Now the ‘community’, no matter where it is has received a positive impact will flourish. This in turn creates further positivity in others and so the human Wi-Fi has received an anti-virus protection and will continue to create and maintain strong communities.
Medigold Health’s Perform range of programmes has been created to pro-actively assist the employer in providing the comprehensive training or anti-virus for their Human Wi-Fi. The investment made in your staff will have positive lasting effects on your business as well as subsequently improving home and social communities too. They believe in their mantra of ‘Think well-Work well- Live well’ and all this can start when you contact one of their experienced staff.
Contact Medigold Health now to discuss your requirements and how we can pro-actively support you, your staff and your community to create not just mental health, but Mental Wealth too.
If you have any other questions or would like to know more about the Occupational Health and Employee Assistance framework available through YPO, please get in touch with the team.