Hey Tribe,
I hope you are well and happy.
Well I’ve had an exciting week, my first cooperate gig.
I was working for a civil engineering company called Jacksons. They are extremely forward thinking in getting me in to help!
I met a lady called Ashley at Mind Body Spirit in Birmingham last year. I made a speech on the main stage, and I hosted a workshop teaching people how to dissolve traumas for themselves. I also had a stand. As synchronicity would have it, I confirmed my place at the NEC for this years Mind Body Spirit this week too, 1/3 November.
I have a speaking slot on the Main Live Stage on Friday 1st November at 10.30-11.15am. The subject will be:-
‘Clearing Emotional Trauma
A new understanding of depression and anxiety including a live demonstration on stage. Clearing emotional trauma.’
I met many of you at last years event and I can’t wait to see you there again this year.
Right, back to Jacksons!
Unfortunately, the building trade is particularly susceptible to poor mental health.
According to the Guardian,
“Working on a building site has become the deadliest profession in the UK, but the dangers have nothing to do with cranes or ladders.
More than 1,400 construction workers took their own lives between 2011 and 2015, according to national statistics. In 2016, the figure was put at 450. The rate is more than three times the national average for men.”
Article in The Guardian
Construction workers tend to be big burly men. We live in a society where strong men are taught to ‘man-up’ and not to react to emotional pain. Women tend to be more supported when something happens, but men, especially macho men, are expected to be a rock at all times.
What many haven’t considered is that men feel just as much as women. Ignoring or sweeping the pain under the rug will only result in a great deal of unresolved trauma. Over time, this can well up and be very destructive. This can result in absenteeism, depression, anger and even suicide.
This is a trend that we need, collectively, to stop and I’m very excited and proud to work with Jacksons to this end.
It’s very impressive that a large national building company is starting to take mental health seriously. I think at some point it will be seen in the same way as any other illness or injury. If you have flu, you are not expected to go into work. There are some days where you just feel emotionally ‘off’ and vulnerable. Perhaps something specific happened? We have bereavement leave in the UK but it’s really at the employer’s discretion. What happens if we have a messy breakup? Or some other trigger, or we are just overwhelmed and need a day to collect ourselves. We are not really able to do that until we reach breaking point and get physically sick.
With Jacksons, I started to give them real world tools to help with mental stability. More on that next week and, fingers crossed, I’ll have a video and some pics from the event to share.
For now here is a link to their website talking about event.
For now, have an amazing week.