November is Men’s Health Awareness Month, and at Foothold our message is clear: there’s no shame in seeking support for your mental and physical health.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy to look after yourself and seek help when you need it, though. Many men have grown up believing that stress, anxiety and even physical ailments don’t need addressing. You may not want to ‘make a fuss’. You may feel less of a man admitting to having a difficult time.

But we all deserve healthy minds and bodies, and every person needs support from time to time.

That’s why we’re proud to introduce this blog from Mates in Mind, a leading UK charity which exists to improve the mental health and wellbeing of workplaces across the UK.

Mates in Mind support places of work in higher risk sectors – including male-dominated fields like engineering – to create environments and cultures that promote positive mental health. In this blog, they offer actionable advice to optimising your mental wellbeing.

What is stress?

Before we can look at how to optimise your wellbeing, it’s important to understand what can put a strain on it: stress. Stress is the way we react to a perceived danger. It has two forms – one builds up over time from regular stressors (like a heavy workload or noisy working conditions), and the other happens suddenly, caused by an unexpected trauma (like a car accident or a bereavement).

Regardless of the source of the stress, however, it’s important to acknowledge that excessive stress over periods of time – without the ability to recover – leads to fatigue, feeling overwhelmed, and feeling unable to cope. All of these can result in ill health.

What matters is not how much stress you can endure, but that you have the skills to reduce it.

This is where resilience comes in. Resilience is the ability to adapt and recover when experiencing stress, and to move between states of stress (‘fight or flight’) and relaxation. If we continue to use our energy in the fight or flight phase, without allowing ourselves to relax, then we become mentally and physically exhausted.

We all know that the way to build muscle is to exert them and then allow time for them to recover, before repeating the process. Building mental resilience can be seen in the same way. Through stress (exercise) and recovery (sleep, nutrition and so on), we build resilience (strength).

So, how can we optimise our mental health?

1. Sleep

According to Mental Health UK, almost 1 in 5 people in the UK aren’t getting enough sleep. Sleep is an important part of the recovery process; it is the body’s natural and most effective way to repair itself.

To achieve a good night’s sleep, it’s a good idea to introduce a pre-sleep routine that sticks to a few simple, manageable rules. For example:

• No ‘blue light’ (devices with screens, like phones, laptops, and the TV) for one hour before bed
• Keep to a regular bedtime (if possible) whether it is a workday or the weekend
• Set an alarm telling you it’s time to go to bed (alarms don’t have to just be for waking up!)
• If you work shifts, shift your routine in the day to accommodate your bedtime
• Ensure your surroundings are conducive to sleep – think dark, quiet, cool, and comfortable

If you struggle to get to sleep, try some simple mindfulness techniques. You could think about a place where you feel calm and imagine your journey there, slowing your breathing by taking long breaths in and out.

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through sleep.

2. Nutrition

If we want our car to perform well, then we need to put in the right fuel. In the same way, to make our bodies work well, we need the right food and good hydration to provide sustained energy.

Try to avoid sugary and caffeinated drinks as an alternative to breakfast, as the ingredients will give you an initial burst of energy, followed swiftly by a ‘crash’, leaving you feeling tired and even irritable. A healthy breakfast, preferably including protein, will provide you with energy throughout the morning without any dramatic dips in your blood sugar levels.

For the same reasons, try swapping out things like chocolate and biscuits for protein-rich snacks like shakes, healthy flapjacks or nuts to help maintain energy and keep blood sugar levels steady.

If you can, try to take a meal break and not eat on the go. Eating as we move or work can prevent proper digestion and stop us from getting the nutrition that supports our cognitive function and mental health.

Meals should ideally include carbohydrates for energy (like brown bread, a seeded wrap, jacket potato or rice), protein (including fish, other meats, cheese, eggs, and falafel) and colourful fruit and vegetables.

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through nutrition.

3. Being active

82% of UK adults acknowledge the importance of physical activity for mental health and overall wellbeing, according to Mental Health Foundation.

Exercise helps us to live longer and healthier lives and is vital to our mental wellbeing.

Being active could mean going to the gym, going for a brisk walk, or doing yoga – but it’s also important to keep moving around throughout the day.

Getting up every hour (when possible) helps us to have a mental break from whatever we are working on, improves our mood, helps our eyes to refocus, and keeps our digestive system moving.

If your job is sedentary, then try to find ways (if it’s safe to do so) to move whilst sitting – refocus your eyes on an object further away than your work, lift and drop your shoulders, put your feet flat on the floor and lift the heel, then the toes, and when possible, take a walk away from your work or studies.

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through being active.

4. Improving your work/life balance

Creating a healthy work-life balance can be hard for engineers, especially when working away from home or working long hours. For some, home life can cause stress too, as you may have caring responsibilities or lots of life admin.

Remember that a break – however you take it – is vitally important for both mental and physical wellbeing. Here’s how you can make some time for you:

• Try to ‘unplug’ from work or studies when you log off or leave for the day – if possible, turn off your work mobile and limit access to emails
• Plan a social activity, like visiting family or calling a friend
• Organise your work into critical (must be done today), urgent (needs to be done, but not necessarily today), standard (no deadline) and nice to do. Ensure you achieve the ‘critical’ and if possible, some of the ‘urgent’ tasks, then you can leave work feeling confident that everything else can wait until another day
• If your work-life balance is a stressor for you, consider speaking to your manager, HR, or your Employee Assistance Programme to see what can be done to achieve better balance

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through work/life balance.

5. Finances

60% of Britons report that the cost-of-living crisis is negatively impacting their mental health, according to King’s College London. It’s a difficult time financially for many people, but there are ways you can manage your money to improve your mental health:

• Create a budget. Start simply, by looking at what money is coming in and what it’s being spent on. Are there any subscriptions or items you don’t need? Are there any areas where you can cut back to free up a bit of money for things that bring you joy?
• There’s no shame in being in debt. Many people are, and there is support out there for you. The StepChange website is a great starting point
• Build a nest egg – if or when finances allow, start to put small amounts of money away for any unexpected expenses
• If you’re worried about your financial situation, the MoneyHelper website is a helpful resource

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through finances.

6. Relaxation

Improve the symptoms of stress and help to build resilience with some simple relaxation techniques, like…

• Taking some long, deep breaths
• Grounding yourself. This means physically connecting with the earth. This could involve lying on the ground, walking barefoot outside, or touching the leaves on trees as you walk by
• Practising mindfulness, visualisation and/or meditation. The NHS has some handy resources for getting started
• Learn or try something new that will concentrate your mind while bringing joy
• Connect with people you care about
• Take breaks when you need them
• Above all, ask for help when you need it. It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to ask for support, and there’s no shame in it.

Learn more about optimising your mental wellbeing through relaxation.

 

Free resources

Discover how your organisation can identify and mitigate stress in the workplace, end the stigma of mental ill-health and build a culture of prevention.

Mates in Mind also have a wealth of free mental health resources you can use, including guides, infographics, and videos to support a healthy mind. Access the resources and learn more about the charity here.

Sign up to Foothold’s FREE Men’s Health webinar on Tuesday 24 November here for expert advice on looking after your wellbeing, whether you’re personally impacted by men’s mental and physical health, or would like to support someone in your life.

Foothold’s free and confidential ‘Mental Health Check-In’ tool is available 24/7 to engineers and their families. Simply complete a 3-minute online questionnaire about your experience of worry, anxiety and low mood and receive a personalised report with tailored advice, including links to further support. Check in here today.

Want to learn more about a mental or physical health condition? Visit our free Wellbeing Hub here, where you’ll also find free online CBT courses.