<aside> 🧠Hey you!
Welcome to Unleashed's Mental Health Resources hub
There are SO many great resources out there around supporting mental health and wellbeing - but, whether you're searching for information to support yourself, or looking for resources to signpost to a team member that's struggling, finding what you're looking for can be difficult and overwhelming. Amongst all that good stuff, there is also a lot of advice that feels generic and patronising. All in all, it can be hard to cut through the noise and find something that feels relevant, tangible and resonant.
'What works' when it comes to supporting wellbeing is different for everyone, but we wanted to use this space to collate some of the Unleashed team's favourite resources for supporting mental health and wellbeing. Things we've actually used and benefitted from ourselves. We know that everyone absorbs things in different ways, so we've included a real range of resources below to watch, read and listen to. We'll continue to add to this page over time - so bookmark it and come back whenever you need to!
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Watch: LifeLabs Learning Resiliency Skills Mini-Workshop Recording. This mini-workshop answered the important question: how do we help employees strengthen their resilience, emotion regulation, and calmness skills? LifeLabs Learning shared research, tips, and exercises to better equip managers to support people through challenging times.
**Watch:** Feeling overwhelmed? Try this super short coaching exercise (4 mins) to help regain some perspective.
**Watch:** This short video provides a simple framework for taking back control of the impact external events have on us and our wellbeing
Follow: Liz & Mollie for uplifting, informative cartoons
Follow: The Self Space - to help demystify therapy and for helpful, no bullshit wellbeing check-ins and tips
Follow: Rebecca-Monique Williams for coaching exercises, journal prompts and insights around trauma and healing.
Follow: The Millennial Therapist for thought-provoking, pithy mental health content
Follow: YourJuno for financial wellbeing advice and education
Follow: Therapy with Abby for content around anxiety, imposter syndrome and burnout
Follow: The Present Psychologist for helpful infographics around mental health and psychology.
Follow: Project Lets - an incredible, radical peer support collective + providing political education & advocacy services. By/for those identifying as mad, mentally ill, Disabled, and neurodivergent.
Follow: Psychosis Positivity - insights and mythbusting around psychosis.
Follow: Black Minds Matter - for resources to promote Black mental health and connect the Black community with therapists.
Read: In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, here's an article from Unleashed about 10 Acts of Kindness that you can use to support your team.
Read: From team Unleashed, here is an article about where to start with creating openness around mental health at work and why it matters.
Read: A blog post on mastering the 3 types of bounce back skills. Part of being resilient is the ability to bounce back from challenges. Bouncing back from a mistake takes a different set of skills than recovering from changes or interpersonal conflict — which is why knowing your bounce back metrics can help you strengthen your weak spots and optimize your strengths.
Read: This article from CharlieHR is all about finding a balance between supporting mental health and managing performance.
Read: If you've ever felt like prepping for taking time off (and then dealing with returning to work) makes your holiday less than relaxing, this one is for you.
Read: In this book, Casper ter Kuile, a Harvard Divinity School fellow, explores how we can transform common, everyday practices such as reading, walking the dog—into sacred rituals that can reduce social isolation and help us to find purpose.
Read: A great introduction to the Quitting Quadrant, a super accessible model for managing your overall workload and energy levels.
Read: Self-care is now a term so broadly used it can apply to pretty much anything. This article provides a really tangible framework to help you identify what self-care means to you.
Read: This article is about applying design thinking principles to your life.
Read: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr Gabor Mate is a fantastic, highly accessible book about addiction. See also - When the Body says No, which is about the physical impact of stress.
Read: The Body Keeps the Score is an amazing look at trauma and recovery.
Read: The Hearing Voices network does amazing work connecting people who hear voices, see visions or have other unusual perceptions. Their website is a great place to check out to learn more and access resources.
Listen: this podcast from Sanctus gives some amazing advice and information on preventing burnout.
Listen: Burnout seems to be everywhere. But it's not inevitable. This podcast looks at some case studies of high-pressure workplaces that have figured out how to fight exhaustion by redesigning jobs -- and changing cultures.
Listen: a short, no-nonsense look at dealing with anticipatory stress (i.e. anxiety about something that is about to happen.)
Listen: the Death, Sex and Money podcast is about all of the meaningful things in life that we find it hella difficult to talk about.
Listen: Griefcast, hosted by comedian Cariad Lloyd is a podcast that examines the human experience of grief and death - but with comedians, so it’s cheerier than it sounds.
Listen: Food Psych is a podcast about recovery from eating disorders and disordered eating.
Listen: National Elf Service (yes, really) is a podcast which helps you keep up to date with the latest reliable health and social care research. Featuring interviews with leading experts in mental health: researchers, clinicians, practitioners and experts by experience.
Do: reflecting on what supports positive mental health at work for you, and identifying any triggers for poor mental health can be so helpful - use this template for yourself or a member of your team.
Do: Loving Kindness meditation sounds very fluffy - but it's scientifically proven to help cultivate compassion - both for yourself and others and foster resilience.
Download:Â ****LifeLabs Learning Emotion Audit and Coping Plan for reference - rapidly changing emotions are normal in times of crisis and uncertainty. Use our Emotion Audit to more effectively label your feelings as they arise, which will give you more space to accept them, feel them, and come up with coping strategies to move through them.
Do: Action for Happiness have simple monthly challenges - each day in a particular month, you commit to one small action to foster happiness and wellbeing.
Download: Our friends at Impala have created a brilliant resource for creating your own wind-down ritual to help switch off from work.
Use: Sometimes it can be hard to find the words for how you feel. But building your 'emotional literacy' can help process your emotions - this feelings wheel helps you pin down what you're experiencing and reflect on it.