You may or may not be aware, but this week is Mental Heath Awareness Week, led by The Mental Health Foundation.
This is something we take very seriously here at Rowan, with flexible working, regular team catch-up calls and numerous trips and outings (the next one being tomorrow in Edinburgh!)
But what do our team members do in their own time to promote positive mental health?
Peter Holt: I practice mindfulness training every day, which helps with PTSD that I developed after my wife had a severe post-natal health issues. I’ve been told that the brain is similar to a muscle, in the sense that you can develop its strength by training it. This training really helps and I feel so much better for it!
Josh Guest: Nothing groundbreaking, but I exercise regularly and with variation. I also spend time with my kids, doing ‘kiddie’ things, such as playing with toys, reading books, telling stories, singing songs and generally not being too serious. I like to be outdoors where possible: playing football and get up to the Lake District whenever I can.
Lastly, setting goals and working towards them really helps. For example, I am a self-taught guitarist and Spanish speaker. Es muy divertido!
Claire Powell: For me, it’s the quiet, peaceful things that I enjoy doing, in contrast to my inevitably busy days at Rowan! I find that walking Cilla (our Cocker Spaniel) in the countryside, reading a good book and running in the great outdoors provides me with a great work/life balance and gets me ready to work the next day.
Luke Williams: I play the drums in a band, and it takes me all up and down the country. The contrast between a desk-based job and this really helps my mental health, and I cherish the variety it brings me. For those quieter moments, I’m a keen chess player and runner, and I spend a lot of time with my immediate family to, who all live close by.
