From mental health to menopause, to cancer treatment, International Women’s Day aims to raise awareness of anything that can have an impact on wellbeing. We caught up with three female wellbeing champions who are on a mission to help people make informed decisions about their health.
If you looked up ‘Engagement’ in the dictionary it would say Michelle. Being an Employee Engagement Advisor is not only her job, it’s her soul, and you can’t help but like her. She tells it like it is and I was impressed.
Health has always been top of her agenda when it comes to bringing people together. For example, menopause workshops were borne out of focus groups with women wanting to know more about this taboo subject in the workplace.
“Everyone is afraid to talk about it, but everyone will go through it. Let’s face it, men will suffer as a result of women going through the menopause…..they just think it’s a woman thing and switch off. We are trying to promote that it is for everybody,” chided Michelle in a very matter-of-fact way.
Sessions were created for line managers and the results were overwhelming with many managers wanting to know more. “The aim was to get people together, chat, share experiences, whilst learning,” said Michelle. Results have been startling. This is what the Engagement Team are all about - lifting the lid on often difficult to discuss subjects – bringing them out in the open and creating networks.
It is with the subject of mental health that Michelle shows her real passion. For her it is a personal odyssey. With one in four suffering with and nine in ten experiencing stigma towards mental health, Michelle is determined to bring this subject out into the open.
“Mental health stuff was something I personally wanted to do. I realised very quickly that we all have things that happen in our life. We all have baggage and sometimes we do not give ourselves the time to process what it has done to you.”
Candid about her own experiences – a painful parental divorce and a breakdown at 19 due to stress, the plucky Employee Engagement Advisor has first-hand knowledge of the need to share experiences. Joining the Time to Change Network transformed her life.
“Sometimes I had imposter syndrome where I felt that my story is not bad enough in that I had not gone to the extreme of wanting to commit suicide. I had to learn that I am not a fraud, and my story is just as valid as others.”
Starting with writing down and sharing her experiences led to her work being featured in mental health newsletters and on the Buckinghamshire Mind website. Her voice is now imbedded in the main Annual Health Fitness Training which helps others come to terms with their own often painful feelings. For this unassuming lady the goal is about connecting with others;
“It’s never been about me. I have worked from the ground up, dealt with all ranks in all services. I learned that everything I want to do is based on the employees. It is about humans. Creating that handhold for people.”
An avid reader, she cites a quote from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as her mantra for dealing with mental health:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into their skin and walk around in it.”
Michelle’s advice for anyone suffering mental health is to take time to stop when you hit a bump in your road. An overloaded mind causes mental blockages and impedes function. Take time to reset and just be. Sound advice!
If you are suffering with mental health, you are not alone. There is no shame in asking for help. Help is at hand. You can listen to Michelle’s talk here, and see the varying levels of support available to you here. For those external to the MOD, please follow Every Mind Matters or Together Wall or My Time to Talk Story.
There is an MOD Menopause Network – led by Mo Bingham for anyone who wishes to join.
We recently highlighted the outstanding achievements of Nikki & Allison, two extraordinary women brought together through personal battles with cancer for World Cancer Day. Both sum up the essence of International Women’s Day goal in regard to health. It is all about choice and having that vital lifeline to gain help at a time when life does not make a lot of sense.
Nikki had noticed that there was a complete lack of information to support people in MOD policies who had been diagnosed with cancer. Through chance, perseverance, a chance meeting with the Cross Government Cancer Support Group and with help of fellow cancer survivor, Allison, the fledgling Defence Cancer Support Network was born at the tail end of 2021. (The full story can be read here). Its mission is to guide, reassure and offer that vital helping hand to people who need a friend.
“We provide a door for people to go through that says ‘yes, there is a person prepared to give you some time.’ We will stand with you ‘Shoulder to Shoulder, Heart to Heart’. We don’t know what you have been going through, but we have been through something similar,” said Nikki.
Neither lady is downbeat, and you have got to love their philosophy – “Laugh more and don’t get anxious. Laughing is good for you.” Their resilience was recognised in 2021 when Allison, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma and now has limited use of her right leg, was awarded the RAF Centenary Trophy for Inspiration at a Royal International Air Tattoo gala dinner after being nominated by Steve Lock of DRes. The first civil servant to receive the coveted honour, Allison’s story was shortlisted from over thirty-two entries. If ever a story deserved to be highlighted for International Woman’s Day, it that of Nikki and Allison. A monumental achievement for two courageous ladies.
The Defence Cancer Support Network can be reached at - Defence Cancer Support Network (sharepoint.com) or email [email protected]
