With People Inc.
Get Back on the Horse, but Only When Ready

Get Back on the Horse, but Only When Ready

by | Jul 18, 2021 | Mental Health Moment

Most people who will tell you to “get back on that horse” have never been bucked off by one. From experience, I can tell you they are skipping a few steps.

The first question asked after being bucked off is, “What the heck was that?”, then we ask, “Am I ok?” along with a frantic pat-down. After that, we slowly stand to confirm we are steady on our feet, check the horse and then, if it is appropriate to do so at that time, do we get back on that horse.

The quick analogy of getting back on the horse can leave the impression the goal is to soldier on without acknowledging the hurt, harm or emotions that coincide with life events.

Psychologists tell us differently.

“We need to stop minimizing our emotions. We need to stop expecting ourselves to act in a way that is inhuman—without feeling.

 “What would it look like for us to simply pause and say, “Wow, I’m feeling a lot of pain right now”—no judgment, no labels, just simply aware of what we are experiencing? What is it that is so difficult about vulnerability that we will jump through every possible loophole to get out of dealing with it?”

Why Do We Minimize Our Emotions? | Psychology Today

Elders tell us differently also.

“If we don’t deal with our trauma, our trauma will deal with us.”

 So the next time you have a hard day, before getting back on the horse, check-in and acknowledge how it affected you and make sure you have the supports and resources you need. Then, when ready, get back on that horse.

Discuss.

 

Lateral Violence: When the Oppressed become the Oppressors

Lateral Violence: When the Oppressed become the Oppressors

by | Jul 17, 2021 | Colonialism, Equity, Exclude, Harassment, Human Resources, Indigenous, Mental Health Moment, OH&S, Safety, TRC 92 (ii), Welcoming, Workplace Respect

When the oppressed become the oppressors.

Lateral violence is a form of bullying engaged in by those oppressed and lacking power. 

In a state of anger, fear and at times panic, feeling unable to confront the system that dominates them, they lash out and attack peers and those closest to them, often those also oppressed. 

It is a function of power or lack thereof, and individuals (often targets themselves), without recourse, lash out at whom they can. Unfortunately, the systemic lack of recourse contributes to the release of energy in an unproductive, at times harmful form. It involves a release of energy built up from toxic or traumatic experiences.

Lateral violence is a sad and retraumatizing phenomenon.

Root causes of this tendency include:

  1. colonization,
  2. oppression,
  3. intergenerational trauma,
  4. powerlessness and
  5. the ongoing experience of racism and discrimination.

Resolving this requires confronting it by outing it, naming the damage it causes and acknowledging whom it damages.

Create space for discussions on the topic in general. Engage peers to gain understanding and commit to eradicating the behaviour from the workplace.

Bullying & lateral violence – Creative Spirits

Strategies: 

  1. Out it.
  2. Confront It.
  3. Discuss its Causes.

Gain Freedom from It.

Discuss.

Take the #20percentchallenge

To learn more about our labour relations, human resources and recruitment firm, visit our homepage.

Rest and Digest. But Not at Your Desk!

Rest and Digest. But Not at Your Desk!

by | Jul 11, 2021 | Mental Health Moment

It is not just what we eat but how we eat. How many of us eat at our desks, on the go or rushing between meetings? What does that tell our brain / nervous system? It sends a signal that we are in danger. Instinctively, the only reason we would eat on the run is to get away from a predator. Our natural state is to rest and digest. Eating at our desks edges our nervous system into a sympathetic state or a fight or flight state.

Only eat at your desk or on the go if you are too peaceful and serene and want to increase your anxiety. (har har)

The best is to eat seated, away from your desk, without electronic distractions. Kathleen Bauer, Nourished Health | Nourish your body’s ability to heal itself!

Breathe deeply, which will support your nervous system entering a parasympathetic state, best for calm and digestion. http://www.amsa.org/healingthehealer/breathing.cfm

When we eat, rest and digest.

Discuss.

Take the #20percentchallenge

 

Increase Productivity with the Pomodoro Method

by | Jul 11, 2021 | Mental Health Moment

Are we having difficulty focusing? Our minds weren’t meant to multi-task, certainly not to the extent that we demand. What normally happens? It does not go as planned. Our ambitious to-do list keeps growing, and we fall behind.

The Pomodoro method can help.

  1. Choose one task
  2. Focus by turning off notifications and distractions
  3. Start a timer and work solidly for 25 minutes
  4. Take a short break away from your desk for 5 minutes
  5. Start timer for another 25-minute focused work session
  6. Take a 20 minutes break

Productivity: the pomodoro technique – PSYCHOLOGY MINDS

Discuss.

Take the #20percentchallenge

Fear of Abandonment

Fear of Abandonment

by | Jul 11, 2021 | Mental Health Moment

Many adults are affected by underlying fears of abandonment. When that is the case, they can often rely heavily on others for validation, anticipate rejection, and often be on alert for signs of disinterest. (Fear of Abandonment: Overcoming the Fear of Being Left Alone (psychalive.org))

This precarious feeling can create triggers and fears that stress the person’s relationships and create emotional swings, even in relationships at work.

 Often overlooked by the person experiencing this fear, the abandonment experience, while real, generally happens to children, not adults. Adults are not get abandoned; they are left. Hence the fears and emotions are not based on the present.

We can all help by:

  • being kind to ourselves and one another at work,
  • being mindful of triggers and emotions not based on the present, and
  • remembering that many people experience these types of fears, and
  • remembering it is a natural human thing to occur.

In other words, be easy on ourselves and others.

Discuss.

Take the #20percentchallenge