Wellbeing Café - The “M” Word Series starting February 2021

To provide a confidential, fun, and friendly space to talk about the “M” word.  A community group for women of any age who are or have experienced challenges pre, during and post menopause.  If you are finding life and the ups and downs of hormones a bit of a challenge or maybe you can offer some help and advice to other women, join in and share your experiences and wisdom. 

The group is facilitated by Mindset & Development Coach Evanthia Steadman and Health & Wellbeing Coach Suzi Gibbs-Chalmers who dare we say it, is about to turn the big 50 this year.

The Menopause seems to be the last taboo; heaven knows why as we all go through it, so let’s talk.  It can be a bit lonely and maybe family are not always the best people to share feelings around the emotional and physical changes you are experiencing. So, we thought there must be other women out their wanting a safe space to let off steam, connect and have somewhere to laugh about the changes and sleeping with window open when it is -2 outside!

Our first Zoom meeting will be 4th February 2021, 7.00pm to 8.00pm.  It will be an informal session getting to know each other so just come along, listen, share, and enjoy with a cuppa. As a group, we can then plan future sessions, dates, timings, and topics you would like covered. There will also be an opportunity to do a guided meditation at end of the session if you would like to stay online for this.

The group is FREE and to book a space please contact:

• Evanthia at hello@transform-create.co.uk
• OR Suzi at info@topazhealth.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you soon.

As a senior health and fitness practitioner, Suzi realised early on in her career the need to balance physical, emotional and mental health when working with customers and patients experiencing illness and depression. She became interested in personal coaching after the sudden death of her father and found a natural transition from physical coaching to embedding coaching throughout her training and coaching of others.

She delivers a worldwide community group to aspiring coaches and is on the board of volunteers for the CALM Town initiative in St Ives helping to prevent depression, loneliness and suicide.

Suzi says,

This is when I started my coaching journey... learning, developing and qualifying to be able to support other people who are experiencing difficult times, thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Overcoming Fear
I remember nearly walking away from one of the best training jobs I have ever had because of feelings of not being good enough.  Thankfully, a good friend talked some sense into me, and I attended the day long interview with 16 other applicants, and guess what I got the job.  I was defiantly out of my comfort zone, there was strong competition, and I was extremely nervous during that day. Life might have been vastly different if I had walked away from this opportunity because of the fear of not being good enough.

Inspired by Others
I have been inspired by those that have overcome physical and mental challenges.  Working as a tutor on the Aspire InstructAbility project training disabled people to become Fitness instructors was one of the most rewarding roles I have enjoyed.  The newly trained fitness instructor specialises in working with other disabled exercisers and other gym users. Watching a military triple amputee set up a concept rower with the help of prosthetics limbs and teach another student how to row was a humbling experience. I realised that day the old saying “there’s no such word as can’t” was true! It is only our belief of what we can and cannot do that either pushes us forwards or holds us back.

Conquering our Self-doubts
To follow the career of Rick Long, now a L3 Fitness Instructor and a World Disabled Strongman after losing his leg and the death of his TT racing partner in a terrible accident inspires me to keep working towards my own goals. To overcome sadness and loss we must focus on how to move forward with love for ourselves and others, helping others can really open our eyes to what we have to be thankful and grateful for.

Listening
Working with people and supporting friends with anxiety and depression, has taught me to listen and really understand, to be there to support and provide guidance, not advice.  I believe we all have the resources inside ourselves to make the changes we need to live a happier fulfilling life.  Just sometimes we need to listen so others can verbalise their thoughts and feelings to find their own solutions to the challenges they are experiencing.

Coaching is Empowerment
Coaching is not about needing to be fixed or saved or helped…. it is about becoming aware of yourself, how sometimes we can get in our own way, preventing us from achieving what we really want.  Everyone needs a coach in their corner from time to time; taking responsibility and learning to let go of what we cannot control develops empowerment and self-belief.

Do you repeat the same habits, patterns and end up in the same situations repeatedly? Do you have a dream for your life?  Are you scared to try? If there was one thing you could change about your life what would it be?

Training as an NLP Master Practitioner, Hypnotherapist and Time-Line Coach helped me to become a better friend, wife, mother, colleague, and human being!  It has provided me with clear direction, focus, success, happiness, and fulfilment. I am grateful for each day I can share my passion, knowledge, and skills with others.

Get out of your comfort zone and start saying YES to change, Yes to your dreams, YES to happiness and YES to greater fulfilment in your life.

We often take our health and wellbeing for granted without stopping to think of how life could feel if we were to become ill. While we may exercise more and eat better to benefit our physical health it is often our mental health that is neglected.
 
With 1 in 4 people being affected by mental ill health at some point in their lives, it is more important than ever that we treat mental and physical health equally, providing education, training and support in the workplace.
 
Would it surprise you to know that that the most common cause of long term absence from work is Mental ill heath at a whopping 56% in 2018. *With the top cause of stress-related absence being workloads and/or volume of work.
 
While technology has helped make working quicker, easier and more efficient it also seems it is having a long term effect on stress and mental ill health in our lives.
 
In 2017, The Government recognised that there is a growing crisis and commissioned Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer (Chief Executive of Mind) to independently review the role employers can play to better support mental health conditions in the workplace. The “Thriving at Work” report sets out a framework called “Core Standards” that should be put into place. These standards are to help employers improve the mental health of their organisation and enable individuals with mental health conditions to feel supported.
 
Organisations are being encouraged to establish new health and wellbeing policy to address the workplace standards for their people, with one of these initiatives being the introduction of regulated First Aid for Mental Health courses. The benefits of investing in health and wellbeing have shown better employee morale and engagement (44%), a healthy more inclusive culture (35%) and lower sick absences (31%).1
 
These courses aim to raise awareness, knowledge and qualifications for individuals in the workplace. Qualifications include OFQUAL regulated Level 2 qualifications in First Aid for Mental Health, similar to the First Aider’s role within the workplace.
 
Health and Wellbeing is a topic we are very passionate about here at Topaz Health Training and have undertaken instructor training qualifications to offer the following courses from Mar 2019:
​

• Level 1 Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health (RQF)
• Level 2 Award in First Aid for Mental Health (RQF)
• Level 3 Award in Supervising First Aid for Mental Health (RQF)

 
To find out more about upcoming courses and how you can help improve mental health in your organisation contact us today.
 
Source *:  Health and Well-being at Work Survey 2018.  www.cipd.co.uk/healthandwellbeing2018

Did you know that in January 2017 the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requirements for Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) and First Aid at Work (FAW) now include training on the use of Automated External Defibrillation (AED) devices?

As a specialist exercise instructor working with higher risk clients it is recommended you up-skill to ensure you are equipped with the knowledge and skills to assist in emergency first aid situations.

At Topaz Health Training we offer courses in First Aid at Work which meet the new HSE requirements and form part of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) for continuing professional development.

Our First Aid Training is designed around the potential risks for exercisers and those working in gyms, leisure centres and outdoor environments. Our tutors have extensive training and experience of delivering first aid tailored to your needs. 

Whether you are an instructor or company looking to up-skill your employees, please contact us to find out more about our courses.  

Useful links:

• NUCO
• First Aid Awards
• HSE

 
Have any questions about our First Aid at Work courses? We are happy to answer any queries you may have.