I take into consideration psychological well being quite a bit. It’s humorous – you don’t give it some thought in any respect till it begins failing you. Then, it’s just about all you’ll be able to take into consideration. I contemplate myself fortunate, although, as a result of I don’t need to faux that I’m feeling fabulous after I’m not, and I can converse brazenly about some struggles that I face. I’m grateful that psychological well being is a dialog the world is having; it’s comforting to know that I’m not alone, and that there’s hope.
Between the World Psychological Well being Day and Movember, I had a chat with Mario Sebastian, VP at Cisco CX EMEA South. I actually appreciated his authenticity sharing his journey.
tenth of October is the World Psychological Well being Day and the shift to prioritizing psychological well being that we’ve been seeing for the previous couple of years was actually echoed on this yr’s theme, Psychological well being is a common human proper. What does this theme imply to you?
Mario: I consider psychological well being is simply as essential, or in some circumstances much more essential than bodily well being. Sturdy psychological well being and resilience may help you endure someof the bodily challenges.
You wouldn’t inform somebody with a damaged leg to only recover from themselves or drink extra water, however that is what we frequently hear in relation to psychological well being.
Mario: Completely, and consequently, in the case of our psychological well being, generally we don’t really feel open to share our challenges. We fear others may see it as a weak spot. This proves to be true with many males who expertise psychological well being challenges however dismiss their emotions and don’t search assist. They really feel pressured by the society and their surroundings to remain sturdy and conceal their issues. This will make the therapeutic course of troublesome, as it’s key to recognise and acknowledge that we’re not nicely, and we should always have the ability to discuss our challenges each with our family and friends, in addition to – if we wish to, at work. I believe it begins with the leaders, they should create an surroundings the place folks can converse freely and really feel protected speaking about their troubles. On the identical time, I believe leaders ought to permit themselves to be susceptible and open about their very own challenges with their groups. Don’t shrink back from having these conversations, as troublesome as they could be.
Psychological well being is one thing that we take very severely at Cisco, and we lately celebrated the corporate large Psychological Well being Consciousness Week with the theme of Psychological Well being Unites Us – Shared Feelings, Distinctive Journeys. Because the sponsor of the Mindfulness and Resilience neighborhood at Cisco… What journey has led you there? Why is that this matter so essential to you personally?
Mario: At this time, I observe quite a few wholesome habits like sports activities, yoga, consuming nutritious meals, in addition to meditation. Every day I allocate a while for my very own aware moments, because it helps me discover the stability and preserve each my physique and soul wholesome. Previously I didn’t pay a lot consideration to it. Generally you really want to hit a wall to recognise you need assistance, and I discovered myself at that time a couple of years in the past. I used to be fortunate to get assist from my spouse and a superb pal of mine, who launched me to the world of meditation and yoga. I began to take heed to my physique and my thoughts, and I really feel a lot more healthy now. It’s not at all times excellent; it’s ups and downs, and it’s essential to be aware and conscious of these moments when you find yourself not feeling nice, and also you may must ask for assist from a trusted individual or knowledgeable. On the identical time, hitting that wall helped me turn into a extra aware chief. I wish to assist folks embrace the journey to a wholesome physique and thoughts.
Leaders ought to permit themselves to be susceptible and open about their very own challenges with their groups. Don’t shrink back from having these conversations, as troublesome as they could be.
As somebody who has been on a psychological well being journey for fairly some time, I utterly agree with what you mentioned about recognising that you simply may want change or assist. All of it begins with consciousness, trigger it’s solely when you find yourself conscious of the issue that you could really do one thing about it.
Mario: And that’s exactly why it’s so essential to foster an surroundings, at house, with your pals, and at work, the place everybody can present up as they’re. We aren’t robots, we’ve got emotions and feelings, and we shouldn’t have to cover them. It’s like what we mentioned earlier: when your physique is unwell, you go to a physician. Why would you deal with your thoughts any totally different and ignore or disguise the issue? We should proceed to boost consciousness and normalising psychological well being issues, in order that in the future we received’t need to hit the all-time low to lastly get assist we want.
We’re human, and all through our lives we expertise ups and downs. Generally, it’s as a result of issues don’t work in our favour, however generally it might appear we’ve got all of it – a superb profession, pleased household, well being, hobbies… And but we don’t really feel good. To make it worse, generally we don’t permit ourselves to deal with it, as if our emotions will not be legitimate.
Whatever the components that undermine our psychological well being, it’s essential that we acknowledge and converse up about our points. In case you are struggling along with your psychological well being, please don’t let concern of judgement, disgrace or anything cease you from getting the enable you want. Discuss to somebody you belief or knowledgeable and keep in mind, that you simply should be pleased.
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