Banter 76: 02Jul25 Wellbeing Matters, with Linda Aspey

Linda introduces us to wellbeing, helps us to recognise it or the lack thereof, suggest strategies to retain or recover wellbeing, defines burnout and ideas for cause and recovery, suggests next steps

Meeting Summary:

Quick recap

The group prepared for an upcoming presentation about well-being in the context of climate change, discussing the challenges of rural transportation and the importance of maintaining mental health while addressing environmental issues. The session focused on burnout awareness and self-care strategies, including the role of stress hormones and the benefits of nature connection, while also exploring community-based approaches to climate action and mental health support.

Next steps

Alison: Consider implementing Citizens' Assemblies beyond the experimental phase with councillors to engage the broader community on climate issues
Meeting Attendees: Review the Climate Psychology Alliance website for accessing free therapy sessions related to climate anxiety
Meeting Attendees: Explore the Climate Café listening circles training opportunity through Climate Psychology Alliance for community engagement
Meeting Attendees: Consider connecting with the ICRA Project for community and place-based initiatives on inner resilience
Linda: Share presentation slides with meeting attendees containing references and resources

Summary

Climate Well-Being and Resilience Strategies

Linda, a climate psychologist and author, introduced the session on well-being in the context of an ailing world, emphasizing the importance of avoiding burnout and finding balance. She outlined the session's focus on strategies for nurturing well-being, resilience, and personal effectiveness. Participants, including Alison, Jonathan, and Garry, shared their backgrounds and interests in climate action and environmental issues. The session aimed to provide tools and insights for maintaining well-being while engaging in climate-related work.

Well-Being and Global Challenges

Linda discussed the importance of well-being in the context of global challenges such as rising temperatures, droughts, floods, and social breakdown. She emphasized that well-being is interconnected with physical health, social ties, and mental health, and highlighted the need to consider these factors in the context of planetary ecosystems. Linda also presented statistics on the increasing number of people in the UK living below a happiness poverty line, which has risen by 650,000 since 2020, highlighting the widespread impact of these challenges.

Understanding and Preventing Burnout

Linda discussed the three components of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism, and a reduced sense of accomplishment. She explained the differences between stress and burnout, highlighting that burnout is a chronic state of mental and physical exhaustion. The group discussed common causes of burnout, including trying to do too much, feeling unproductive, and working in unfavorable environments. Linda also touched on the impact of climate anxiety and the broader environmental crisis on mental health.

Burnout Awareness and Resilience

Linda led a discussion on burnout awareness, conducting an anonymous poll with three questions about participants' relationship with burnout. The results showed encouraging resilience, with an average score of 3.3 out of 10 for current burnout risk and 5 out of 10 for burnout risk over the past five years. Alison shared her perspective on managing burnout by maintaining a long-term perspective and leveraging support from a group of 15 green councillors who look out for each other.

Understanding Burnout and Brain Function

Linda discussed the signs and effects of burnout, emphasizing that it is not just fatigue but a full-body neurological and psychological shutdown. She explained how chronic stress affects various brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus, leading to issues like poor decision-making, heightened threat detection, and memory problems. Linda also covered the role of stress hormones like cortisol and the impact on immune function, mood, and social bonding. She briefly introduced polyvagal theory, highlighting the importance of the vagus nerve in emotional regulation and social engagement.

Self-Care and Stress Management Strategies

The group discussed various strategies for self-care and stress management, with Linda emphasizing the importance of sleep, nature connection, nutrition, and hydration. They explored how different activities like gardening can be beneficial, with Garry noting that he enjoys relaxing in his garden swing chair while his wife does the gardening. Linda highlighted that even small moments of nature connection, such as looking at a flower for five minutes, can improve mental health, and she shared research on the negative effects of ultra-processed foods and the presence of plastic in the human body.

Self-Care and Burnout Prevention Strategies

Linda discussed self-care strategies, including self-compassion, mindfulness, and gratitude, emphasizing their importance in maintaining well-being and preventing burnout. She highlighted the early signs of burnout and encouraged listening to concerns from others and seeking support. Linda also stressed the importance of social connections and reciprocity with nature, noting that humans are part of an ecosystem. Alison reflected on the practical application of these strategies in her community and expressed a desire to use them to raise awareness about well-being issues.

Climate Psychology and Community Support

Linda shared information about the Climate Psychology Alliance's services, including a directory of therapists offering free sessions for climate-related anxiety, climate cafe listening circles, and training for community facilitators. She mentioned a new partnership called the Inner Climate Resilience Alliance, which will receive lottery funding to expand their reach and support local initiatives. The group discussed the importance of community engagement and citizen-led efforts in addressing climate issues, with Alison suggesting the possibility of citizens' assemblies as a way to involve the public.

Presentation:

To enable the AI search engine to function fully, we have added a markdown copy of Linda's presentation at the bottom of this page

Chat and Links:

There were no entries in the Zoom chat in this session, but Linda mentioned several links that could be helpful to anyone wishing to go further:

Linda's email address: [email protected]
Linda's website: aspey.com
Climate Café Listening Circles: CCLC
Climate Psychology Alliance: CPA
Inner Climate Resilience Alliance: ICRA - contact Linda directly
References and Resources
- World Wellbeing Movement UK Wellbeing Report 2025
- WHO on Wellbeing www.who.int/activities/promoting-well-being
- Polyvagal Theory https://positivepsychology.com/polyvagal-theory/
- Ultra-Processed Foods BHF on UPFs
- Sleep & Mental Health Mental Health Foundation
- Climate Psychology Alliance climatepsychologyalliance.org

Speech-to-text: (for AI Search engine)

219 00:18:12.170 --> 00:18:23.220 Linda Aspey: Okay, so we'll start then. So I'll just say to to Graham Graham, we're starting the recording now, and we are 1416, just to make it easy for you.

220 00:18:24.050 --> 00:18:26.660 Linda Aspey: so I'll introduce myself.

221 00:18:27.350 --> 00:18:28.790 Linda Aspey: Oh, here's Gary!

222 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:31.359 Linda Aspey: That's great welcome, Gary.

223 00:18:33.610 --> 00:18:52.860 Linda Aspey: so I'll get get going. So Hello! I'm Linda aspe. And I'm a climate psychologist, psychotherapeutic counsellor, executive coach. And I work a lot with the climate psychology alliance. I'm on the Board of the Climate Psychology. Alliance. I'm an author of a book called Holding the Hope.

224 00:18:53.020 --> 00:19:02.110 Linda Aspey: which was an edited book of the subtitle, Reviving Psychological and spiritual agency in the face of climate change.

225 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:30.920 Linda Aspey: I've been an activist with extinction rebellion. And I've supported just stop oil. And I currently now focus most of my activities on working with leaders in organizations and groups and teams. And I do things like this. I do talks. This is an example of something that I'd normally charge for. I do talks and workshops, on building resilience in ourselves and in our systems and organizations. I take a systemic view which, hopefully as you go through, will realise.

226 00:19:30.990 --> 00:19:36.150 Linda Aspey: and I often do get invited these days to talk more and more about metacrisis

227 00:19:36.350 --> 00:19:56.529 Linda Aspey: crisis of meaning and poly crisis and collapse. So I won't be going into the darkest side of it today. But I'm coming at it from a collapse, aware perspective that the things that we have in life are crumbling around us and that we are in a state of already in a state of

228 00:19:56.600 --> 00:20:07.129 Linda Aspey: partial collapse, and that's been going on for some time, and but having said that all civilizations do collapse at some point. The average duration is about 320 years.

229 00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:21.989 Linda Aspey: We're about 260 years into ours, but some have collapsed as little as 9. So we're in very difficult times. Doesn't mean to say we're all going to fall off the face of the earth. It just means the systems and the structures that we live in

230 00:20:22.290 --> 00:20:26.540 Linda Aspey: and have created are in a massive state of change.

231 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:45.149 Linda Aspey: So that's just to set the sort of context of what I am and what we're going to do today. And what I've got is I've got some slides to talk through. It'll take about an hour, and this is a testing pool for me, because this is normally a longer session of a workshop, and I try to put it into an hour without being too crammy

232 00:20:45.350 --> 00:21:02.380 Linda Aspey: and too geeky, and I'm not particularly geeky myself, anyway. But so the aim of this, really, and if you were in a bigger group. I'd be getting you to do all sorts of things. But what would be nice is if you could just introduce yourself and say just a couple of sentences about

233 00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:11.959 Linda Aspey: what's your role in the great collaboration, or what's your working role now, or both? Just a couple of sentences. And, Alison, do you want to kick off, as I can see you.

234 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:19.529 Alison Bruce: Yeah, thank you. So I'm a parish and a town. No, not I'm a parish and a district councillor in the Forest of Dean.

235 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:26.730 Alison Bruce: and I've kind of come and gone from these over the years since it started.

236 00:21:27.100 --> 00:21:34.650 Alison Bruce: And one of my big reasons for being here today really is about how on earth do you

237 00:21:34.770 --> 00:21:54.390 Alison Bruce: get people to think about what they can do about all of this? Because I do think it is othered. You know it's they will deal with it, and either I'm going to be seen as a tree hugger, or I'm going to be seen as the Council who does stuff, so I'll be so interested to hear the kind of stuff that you can offer. Thank you. Yeah.

238 00:21:54.870 --> 00:21:56.180 Linda Aspey: Thanks, Alison.

239 00:21:56.310 --> 00:22:05.510 Linda Aspey: Thank you, Jonathan. How about you? Are you able to come on screen yet? Or, Gary, are you able to come on screen. It's nice if you can, particularly as we're such a small group.

240 00:22:06.060 --> 00:22:09.289 Jonathan Cooke: Hi! I'm I'm John from Kington.

241 00:22:10.023 --> 00:22:25.560 Jonathan Cooke: I've been a member of extinction rebellion since the start, and been arrested on protests and stuff obviously extremely concerned about the way things are are going. Interestingly, I've just been in India

242 00:22:25.850 --> 00:22:42.500 Jonathan Cooke: and the traffic in the cities absolutely appalling, and the pollution there. But on the upside it's fantastic to see the way they're converting cycle rickshaws into electric rickshaws.

243 00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:50.260 Jonathan Cooke: mixture of bits and pieces and homemade this, that and the other. But there are things happening as well. So there, yeah, it was very good to see that.

244 00:22:50.510 --> 00:22:55.360 Linda Aspey: That's great! That's lovely. Welcome, Jonathan and Gary! How about you?

245 00:22:56.905 --> 00:22:59.859 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Good off. Good afternoon, everyone. Can. You hear me? Okay.

246 00:22:59.860 --> 00:23:00.290 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

247 00:23:00.540 --> 00:23:05.529 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yeah. So I work for caution. Town council on the Environmental Project officer here.

248 00:23:06.247 --> 00:23:22.069 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: I previously worked for Greenpeace for about 10 years, and the head office in Amsterdam. So got a long history of also action oriented activities. And as part of my work, I actually give climate literacy

249 00:23:23.391 --> 00:23:28.759 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: presentations to various groups. So just on Tuesday.

250 00:23:29.030 --> 00:23:51.699 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: which is yesterday, I gave a climate, literacy, or climate presentation to a retirement village, a local retirement village. So I was telling them all about climate change, what we were doing, what was going on? Why, it was a dish. Why, it's an issue. So anything to that here today just can help me in those kind of conversations and help me to talk to people always useful.

251 00:23:52.030 --> 00:23:56.920 Linda Aspey: Wonderful, wonderful. Well, today's session is very much focusing on well-being.

252 00:23:57.750 --> 00:24:16.580 Linda Aspey: and I think some of you will know a lot of this already. I often, you know, sort of start from a base that people have a general sense of things, but may not know some of the details, so I hope I'm not, you know. I don't like that expression, grandma, and eggs and all of that. But I hope I'm not telling you too much. That's sort of tasked me. Think, oh, I really knew this already.

253 00:24:16.580 --> 00:24:29.159 Linda Aspey: and I hope to bring also a fresh approach to some of these things. So this is the title of the session is well-being matters, and the focus is on avoiding burnout and finding balance in an ailing world.

254 00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:40.079 Linda Aspey: So I hope this is when we didn't give much information when we said, This is the session. We're going to do so. I hope you're not going. Oh, no, I thought you were going to talk about climate communications or how to talk to people about climate change.

255 00:24:40.470 --> 00:24:44.460 Linda Aspey: We can do those talks. But today's 1. So I hope that's okay for you.

256 00:24:45.650 --> 00:24:54.309 Linda Aspey: So what we're going to cover today, then, is we'll cover some a bit of context setting, but not too much, because you know a lot more than most.

257 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:58.300 Linda Aspey: we'll think about. What do we mean by well-being?

258 00:24:58.800 --> 00:25:01.719 Linda Aspey: And what about burnout? What? What's that?

259 00:25:02.190 --> 00:25:07.879 Linda Aspey: And then we'll look at some strategies for nurturing and restoring well-being, balance and resilience.

260 00:25:08.580 --> 00:25:12.510 Linda Aspey: and we'll look at finding out what works for you and keeping it going.

261 00:25:13.150 --> 00:25:29.169 Linda Aspey: And the session is a mixture of presentation, plus some group, and I was going to say some pairs discussion. But as we're in a small group, we can do some stuff together, we might do a pairs with me being a pair, we'll see how we go. Does anybody need to leave before 3? 15?

262 00:25:31.290 --> 00:25:41.840 Linda Aspey: Well, that's nice. That makes me more easeful, because, as I said this, this is normally a longer presentation, and I've tried to squeeze it down, but hopefully, in an easeful way.

263 00:25:42.530 --> 00:25:47.240 Linda Aspey: So we'll start off with the context setting is, why does well-being particularly matter now?

264 00:25:47.620 --> 00:26:11.809 Linda Aspey: Well, what's happening around us is self-explanatory. We are witnessing global temperatures rising far faster than many scientists predicted certainly than the Ipcc told us, or would put their name to. And we've been experiencing that in this country, too. So some of this is newer to us than other parts of the world which have been struggling for many, many years.

265 00:26:12.010 --> 00:26:24.380 Linda Aspey: We're seeing more floods. We're seeing more drought. And of course all of this affects supply chain affects our daily living, affects our physical health, affects our food supplies, and all of that.

266 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:34.019 Linda Aspey: We're also potentially on the risk of a recession of global nature. Who knows? Obviously, America's doing its part to make sure that probably does happen.

267 00:26:36.010 --> 00:26:45.540 Linda Aspey: And we're witnessing extreme extreme brutality around the world, with lands and people and civilians and wars and homes

268 00:26:45.860 --> 00:26:57.209 Linda Aspey: being destroyed, and starvation on mass scale that we've not seen in our known about in our lifetime. So there's a lot of things affecting our capacity to be well.

269 00:26:57.590 --> 00:27:01.499 Linda Aspey: both personally, directly and indirectly.

270 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:16.050 Linda Aspey: And that last picture really looks at. You know this sort of fairly what we thought was a robust world, is actually quite fragile, and and is fracturing in places, and is in in various stages of different forms of collapse so.

271 00:27:16.510 --> 00:27:20.749 Linda Aspey: and thinking about well-being at times like this, can feel somewhat selfish

272 00:27:20.890 --> 00:27:31.539 Linda Aspey: as a coach and facilitator, and and also therapist. People come and say I feel guilty for talking about myself when so much is going on in the world, and I'm so privileged.

273 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:55.359 Linda Aspey: But I think it does matter now, because we've got to be able to be strong for ourselves and strong for others to do the work that needs to be done, to play our part, whatever that is going to be in an aspect of the great turning. We may not see it in all our lifetime, but to move away from the civilizations that are destroying into something different for the subsequent generations.

274 00:27:55.390 --> 00:28:04.410 Linda Aspey: And if we're not up to the job because we're not fit and well, then, we're not going to be useful, and we could end up inadvertently being a burden.

275 00:28:04.470 --> 00:28:16.799 Linda Aspey: I'm not saying that if you're ill you're a burden, but if if we're not looking after ourselves when we've got the chance to, we could be adding to a problem instead of actually being part of a a longer term solution. I hope that makes sense.

276 00:28:18.532 --> 00:28:24.659 Linda Aspey: So well-being really matters now. But the big question is, how can we be well, in an ailing world

277 00:28:25.660 --> 00:28:29.750 Linda Aspey: when we see all around us is ill, and we are stardust.

278 00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:53.570 Linda Aspey: we are carbon. We are made of the same things that everything else in this picture is made of or contains, and around that we see that so often, you know, we tend to think about well-being as an isolation thing. And actually, even in my research around well-being unless I was researching climate change and mental health.

279 00:28:53.860 --> 00:29:01.029 Linda Aspey: Most of the models out there for well-being do not think about anything else apart from the human. Oddly

280 00:29:02.510 --> 00:29:13.490 Linda Aspey: so, if we look at the World Health Organization with the fullest embodiment, their definition. Well-being is the fullest embodiment of mental, physical, psychological, and spiritual health.

281 00:29:13.840 --> 00:29:26.830 Linda Aspey: including healthy relationships, social ties, sense of empowerment and belong and emotional resiliency amongst other variables. So it's a nice definition. But it's quite human centric understandably.

282 00:29:27.728 --> 00:29:31.430 Linda Aspey: Because that's where we've our attention's been put for a long time.

283 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.589 Linda Aspey: But if we look at 3 pillars of well-being

284 00:29:34.690 --> 00:29:38.279 Linda Aspey: and we put them in the context of our planetary ecosystems.

285 00:29:38.610 --> 00:29:43.990 Linda Aspey: Yeah, we've got physical health. How? How well we are, physically, how well we are able to move

286 00:29:44.250 --> 00:30:01.709 Linda Aspey: because we're destined to be as mobile as possible. We're not plants that tend to stay static. Our life depends on being able to move to some extent or another and to function well and for our organs to function as part of a system.

287 00:30:01.910 --> 00:30:05.650 Linda Aspey: Our well-being also depends a lot on social health.

288 00:30:05.810 --> 00:30:30.849 Linda Aspey: and this didn't used to get a lot of attention. And it's only recently becoming much clearer through lots of research and massive amounts of feedback from people working in the social sector is that you can't have. Well, people, if you have the social. If the social contract has been broken, if people live in isolation when they're living in poverty when they're living in settings that are not conducive to good

289 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:34.319 Linda Aspey: overall health, and that they're with others who care.

290 00:30:34.600 --> 00:30:56.159 Linda Aspey: So the social we've even, as you'll know from the work you do. Social prescribing has become quite a normal thing. That was quite new. I'm actually an ex nurse. I was a paediatric and general nurse over 40 years, maybe 50 years no, not 50, but 40 years ago. And we didn't even think, really, we had a tiny bit of training about social context.

291 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:04.619 Linda Aspey: hardly any, really. And we were also quite focused on bodily parts as individual things rather than part of an inherent system.

292 00:31:05.250 --> 00:31:13.280 Linda Aspey: And it's still the same these days you go to a specialist and they're a specialist, and they don't talk to the other specialist about the other thing that's going on in your body at the same time.

293 00:31:13.820 --> 00:31:20.329 Linda Aspey: And then we've got the context of mental health. And again, we've seen a sea change in attitudes towards mental health

294 00:31:20.450 --> 00:31:38.239 Linda Aspey: in society particularly. And I'm talking a lot about the Uk here today, because I'm aware we're Uk focused. But we've now become much more aware of the impact of mental health on our overall well-being, and instead of pushing it to the back of the queue, it's it's become. It's taking its place.

295 00:31:38.670 --> 00:31:48.319 Linda Aspey: But we often don't put this stuff in the context of our planetary ecosystems. And I'll come back to that question, how can we even expect to be well in a nailing world.

296 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:54.069 Linda Aspey: When the air we breathe, the water, we drink, the food we eat.

297 00:31:54.670 --> 00:31:58.810 Linda Aspey: the things we see on the news, the things we experience in our own villages.

298 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:09.790 Linda Aspey: the social breakdown, and all of those things. They're all part of well-being. So I want to, you know. Just lay that as this. We're always thinking system here.

299 00:32:11.530 --> 00:32:25.350 Linda Aspey: and I looked at some of the research around wellbeing in the Uk. And some of you may know about the happiness poverty line, which was from the Uk wellbeing report from the World wellbeing movement. And I put links to this research paper at the back.

300 00:32:25.790 --> 00:32:50.709 Linda Aspey: and they've got the happiness, positive poverty line. Loosely speaking, it's looking at life satisfaction as opposed to just Gdp. There are some measures in there of poverty itself, of financial poverty, but I didn't understand them well enough to go into them for this presentation. So I'm going to take a shortcut and just say it's a life satisfaction rating. It's an overall so, and the happiness poverty line

301 00:32:50.760 --> 00:32:56.319 Linda Aspey: is normally up to 10, and we're looking at those with a rating of 5 or below.

302 00:32:57.180 --> 00:33:03.640 Linda Aspey: Well, in 2,004. There were 1, 8, 1 in 8 people in the Uk. Living below the happiness, poverty, poverty line

303 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.020 Linda Aspey: quite some variance across the Uk. 5%

304 00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:11.280 Linda Aspey: of the population in some area up to 25%, in others.

305 00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:16.729 Linda Aspey: in the poorest of areas from all sorts of measures. So one in 4

306 00:33:17.510 --> 00:33:23.969 Linda Aspey: and in only a year that's gone up by 650,000, and we're post-covid now, although, of course.

307 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:40.369 Linda Aspey: any of you working with the public will know that we're not really post. Covid is still very alive and thriving in some places. It's just that the emergency nature of it seems to have faded. But there are people still. People getting Covid and dying of Covid and Covid related.

308 00:33:40.550 --> 00:33:57.569 Linda Aspey: and increasing number of research to show that anyone that's had Covid is going to have some body changes bodily changes in our cardiovascular system, for example. So it's 650,000 people. And that's an increase of 10% or otherwise. Wembley stadium fills 7 times

309 00:33:57.720 --> 00:33:59.150 Linda Aspey: just in one year.

310 00:33:59.490 --> 00:34:03.050 Linda Aspey: That fallen below this poverty line, this happiness poverty line

311 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:11.850 Linda Aspey: that which means there are now 7 million adults out of 68 million across the Uk. As estimated to be living below this happiness line.

312 00:34:12.670 --> 00:34:16.959 Linda Aspey: Quite a lot, really, in a so-called developed country.

313 00:34:17.070 --> 00:34:24.739 Linda Aspey: and you may have statistics locally. That support, or even, you know, really go much beyond this in terms of detail.

314 00:34:26.489 --> 00:34:28.830 Linda Aspey: So now, thinking about

315 00:34:29.080 --> 00:34:37.819 Linda Aspey: what is burnout. Well, there are 3 potential components to burnout 3 3 components. One is this emotional exhausting.

316 00:34:38.040 --> 00:34:42.350 Linda Aspey: By the way, I will be signposting some resources at the end as well

317 00:34:42.590 --> 00:34:50.219 Linda Aspey: for you, emotionally exhausting that feeling of being overextended, absolutely drained, of emotional physical energy.

318 00:34:50.489 --> 00:34:53.570 Linda Aspey: maybe having meltdowns, unable to switch off.

319 00:34:53.810 --> 00:35:00.589 Linda Aspey: often having ruminating thoughts, you know, worried about what's not been done, worried about not finishing worried about not being good enough

320 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:03.050 Linda Aspey: letting people down.

321 00:35:04.410 --> 00:35:08.030 Linda Aspey: Another component is depersonalization or cynicism.

322 00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:15.050 Linda Aspey: and we'll look into some of the neurological reasons for this in a moment. But it's that disengagement.

323 00:35:15.290 --> 00:35:21.150 Linda Aspey: And often it can show up as negative attitudes and reactions towards colleagues, or even people accessing services.

324 00:35:21.711 --> 00:35:27.889 Linda Aspey: One might have called it in the past, perhaps. what's that word?

325 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:32.029 Linda Aspey: Not trauma? Fatigue, compassion, fatigue.

326 00:35:33.050 --> 00:35:37.579 Linda Aspey: When really, what's the point? I don't care anymore. It's just too much.

327 00:35:37.720 --> 00:36:05.079 Linda Aspey: And that person's really annoying, anyway, or there's no point in it. That kind of sense of futility and a retreat from people, whereas a lot of people in the sort of work you do, and that I do. We've been drawn to it because we want to do good and we would not do good. But we want to be of support. And we want to play a role, a valid role in society. So that's often quite out of character for people that they really are disengaged. And they're cynical about the work they do and the people they are surrounded by.

328 00:36:05.860 --> 00:36:09.140 Linda Aspey: And the 3rd component is that reduced sense of accomplishment

329 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:16.220 Linda Aspey: I'm hoping this isn't all sounding horribly familiar. Right now we're going to look at how much it is

330 00:36:16.470 --> 00:36:27.800 Linda Aspey: that feeling like you never achieve anything, that loss of motivation and sense of purpose, often accompanied by a loss of focus where your head's like cotton wool, you can't think straight

331 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:31.979 Linda Aspey: and a surprise surprise this results in reduced performance.

332 00:36:32.110 --> 00:36:46.329 Linda Aspey: Hence there can be often a cycle of trying harder, working harder, doing more, working longer to try and make up for the poor poor. So, you know, perceived poor performance. I'm just going to turn. I thought, my going to close my email down.

333 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:52.720 Linda Aspey: So that's how we see burnout. And people often ask, Well, what's the difference between burnout and stress

334 00:36:54.570 --> 00:37:02.509 Linda Aspey: or stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation, and that can, of course, be both positive and negative.

335 00:37:02.620 --> 00:37:16.329 Linda Aspey: I quite like a tight deadline. I'm the kind of person that if I've got a paper to put in at 9 o'clock, I'll still be writing on a Sunday evening, and on Monday morning. I'll still be writing. I quite like the urgency, and that's called Eustress.

336 00:37:16.650 --> 00:37:23.129 Linda Aspey: when I'm you know, kind of motivated, so it doesn't always have to be, but it's a mental tension, and it can be a driver.

337 00:37:23.630 --> 00:37:29.090 Linda Aspey: and we all experience that at some point, and it often fluctuates during the day or week or month.

338 00:37:29.590 --> 00:37:33.160 Linda Aspey: and is often, you know, contextual. Pardon me.

339 00:37:33.310 --> 00:37:38.090 Linda Aspey: whereas if stress is chronic and lead to burnout that sense of

340 00:37:38.770 --> 00:37:47.589 Linda Aspey: physical or emotional exhaustion, lack of strength, lack of motivation, and that's usually due to prolonged stress or frustration.

341 00:37:50.410 --> 00:37:58.400 Linda Aspey: So I'm going to stop the show there for a moment and just say, what do you think are the common causes of burnout? And let's see what you think about the common causes.

342 00:37:59.860 --> 00:38:08.489 Linda Aspey: We can't say that today's conversation is confidential because it's being recorded. But if you want to share something that's personal, you can always anonymize it.

343 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:11.249 Linda Aspey: Some of the common causes of burnout.

344 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:15.080 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Trying to do too much.

345 00:38:15.250 --> 00:38:17.140 Linda Aspey: Yeah, yeah.

346 00:38:22.268 --> 00:38:24.539 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Feeling. You're not making any progress.

347 00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:25.390 Alison Bruce: Hmm.

348 00:38:25.670 --> 00:38:26.270 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

349 00:38:26.620 --> 00:38:32.300 Alison Bruce: Yeah, and doing something. I mean, like this climate stuff where it's so huge.

350 00:38:32.410 --> 00:38:34.600 Alison Bruce: And you have to

351 00:38:34.930 --> 00:38:41.469 Alison Bruce: find a way of coping with the fact that you are only one person trying to do something, and

352 00:38:41.710 --> 00:38:45.289 Alison Bruce: there are limits to what you can do. But you have to hang on to what you can do.

353 00:38:45.570 --> 00:38:46.160 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

354 00:38:46.350 --> 00:38:47.140 Alison Bruce: Or not.

355 00:38:47.430 --> 00:38:55.700 Linda Aspey: Absolutely. What about before we knew about climate and the emergency? Some of you may not recall a time when you didn't know, of course.

356 00:38:55.950 --> 00:39:00.800 Linda Aspey: But what about before? What sort of things would have traditionally caused burnout.

357 00:39:03.720 --> 00:39:10.330 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Stress, just general stress stress, just general stress. You know, home life.

358 00:39:10.500 --> 00:39:11.800 Linda Aspey: Work.

359 00:39:11.930 --> 00:39:17.029 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: You know, trying to do too much like, I said. Also.

360 00:39:17.230 --> 00:39:21.139 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: you know, working in an unfavorable environment.

361 00:39:22.230 --> 00:39:25.829 Linda Aspey: Working long hours, not making progress.

362 00:39:27.420 --> 00:39:31.440 Linda Aspey: Yeah, absolutely. And of course, those things are still there.

363 00:39:32.040 --> 00:39:35.640 Linda Aspey: They're all still there. They've been there. We've we've created these

364 00:39:35.970 --> 00:39:55.479 Linda Aspey: systems and processes and all of these things, and we're just layering it with everything else that's been going on, particularly the pandemic was the sort of moment for many people when the stress levels height just went through the roof. Anything else that anybody can think of about what causes burnout? What can cause it.

365 00:39:56.500 --> 00:40:02.510 Alison Bruce: I guess it's linked to what you and Gary were saying really is that it's

366 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:17.390 Alison Bruce: I don't know if I said it here or before we started. But it's it's the kind of othering, you know. It's oh, well, someone else can do that. People don't take responsibility. And so you try to whatever you're doing when I was a social worker. So I was trying to

367 00:40:17.570 --> 00:40:21.879 Alison Bruce: encourage people to take responsibility and control in their own lives.

368 00:40:22.030 --> 00:40:37.890 Alison Bruce: And it's the same for all of us, isn't it? You have to feel like you have control, and you often don't, for whatever reason. And so it's finding how how you can manage what you can do and finding what's possible. Yeah.

369 00:40:37.890 --> 00:40:40.879 Linda Aspey: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yes.

370 00:40:41.590 --> 00:40:44.359 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Also illness. Illness can be a.

371 00:40:44.570 --> 00:40:45.040 Linda Aspey: And and.

372 00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:45.939 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: A reason.

373 00:40:46.390 --> 00:40:48.680 Linda Aspey: Yeah, yeah, mental as well as physical.

374 00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:51.019 Linda Aspey: Yeah, yeah, definitely.

375 00:40:51.100 --> 00:41:14.820 Linda Aspey: definitely. And I put a few more up here that are just common ones. So this is chronically high workload, sometimes a fast pace of work, long hours. You never get the sense you've got through your day. You finish. You never get that sense of finishing and lack of resources and support. And that's been even more so in the last few years with cutbacks and austerity. And we're still

376 00:41:14.890 --> 00:41:33.129 Linda Aspey: in that often unclear role, expectations that could happen pre or post pandemic and covid, and that but these kind of things can be very difficult and constantly changing plans and goalposts, and I'm sure that that much also must affect you a lot in the councils. When you have a change of government.

377 00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:43.470 Linda Aspey: when you have a change of regions boundaries. We've just had one in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire. Bits of Warwickshire have gone to Oxfordshire, those poor people, you know.

378 00:41:43.980 --> 00:42:04.470 Linda Aspey: Poor work-life balance and no opportunities to recover. Now, anyone that does sports that does ever done, you know, really strenuous sports know that recovery is part of is the key to being top of your game in in sports exercise same thing. If you exercised every day and ran every day, you would never recover, and you'd do damage

379 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:15.710 Linda Aspey: so, and there's also some of our personal characteristics, poor boundaries, maybe over involvement in what we do, caring too much, taking too much, being a perfectionist.

380 00:42:15.820 --> 00:42:19.240 Linda Aspey: not able to say no, that can often be a feature.

381 00:42:19.390 --> 00:42:23.610 Linda Aspey: and some of these are lived life experiences we brought with us to the roles we do

382 00:42:23.910 --> 00:42:33.250 Linda Aspey: sometimes. There's unaddressed relationship issues, you know, prolonged bullying, a toxic culture, feeling alone with it all that you can't take it anywhere.

383 00:42:34.388 --> 00:42:40.379 Linda Aspey: And I thought about really anxiety. Climate, anxiety, for example, can lead to hypomania.

384 00:42:40.520 --> 00:42:49.520 Linda Aspey: climate, anxiety, you know, when I 1st really discovered what was going so badly wrong with the climate and environment. I threw myself

385 00:42:49.680 --> 00:43:05.059 Linda Aspey: into extinction, rebellion day and night just anything I could do, you know, and I luckily didn't get really badly burnt out, but I just became aware that I was not doing any recovery or resting, and it wasn't doing me or anybody else any good.

386 00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:11.010 Linda Aspey: So and that's a real, very rare danger for people working on the climate front line, I think.

387 00:43:11.950 --> 00:43:15.840 Linda Aspey: And I've added here more recently that we're aware of.

388 00:43:16.190 --> 00:43:27.959 Linda Aspey: But we've had this ailing planet for a long time, but living in and on an ailing planet with systems that are toxic, extractive, exploitative, unjust, and collapsing.

389 00:43:28.190 --> 00:43:35.630 Linda Aspey: We're in a poly crisis or a Meta crisis. So hey, isn't it no surprise? We're burning out. People are really burning out

390 00:43:36.190 --> 00:43:41.690 Linda Aspey: so which begs then the question of Well, who else is affected.

391 00:43:41.960 --> 00:43:49.469 Linda Aspey: I think about some of the people that I know, and some of the people that you will also be working with in councils, in social care.

392 00:43:50.235 --> 00:43:58.649 Linda Aspey: About these people, the carers, the caseworkers, the farmers, the independent retailers.

393 00:43:58.980 --> 00:44:06.430 Linda Aspey: the social environmental researchers at the Climate Psychology Alliance. We do a lot of work with people doing conservation work and research.

394 00:44:06.530 --> 00:44:16.019 Linda Aspey: and that their life's work is kind of diminishing in front of their eyes as they're measuring, doing field studies looking at biodiversity decline. For example.

395 00:44:16.440 --> 00:44:22.390 Linda Aspey: the people trying to find a job with all the threats that AI and other things are bringing

396 00:44:22.580 --> 00:44:33.750 Linda Aspey: the adolescents and the young people who are not only going through the normal rites of passage, but are also facing increasingly tough times in a declining world.

397 00:44:34.010 --> 00:44:40.830 Linda Aspey: The career is people who put everything into their career. They're working harder to try and stay in that career, to stay top of their game.

398 00:44:41.020 --> 00:44:51.200 Linda Aspey: There may be others, and as you mentioned there just now, I think it was Gary or Jonathan talked about. You know illness, mental illness, and physical illness.

399 00:44:51.910 --> 00:44:55.679 Linda Aspey: and you so who may be most at risk of burnout

400 00:44:56.102 --> 00:45:00.999 Linda Aspey: and it's not a case. It's not a thing we often think about, but who in my team.

401 00:45:01.610 --> 00:45:06.049 Linda Aspey: who are in my community who in my Friendship family group

402 00:45:06.630 --> 00:45:10.669 Linda Aspey: might be really at risk of burnout, because it's often quite hidden.

403 00:45:10.980 --> 00:45:17.720 Linda Aspey: and that the worst case scenario that burnout can lead to to decisions of people taking their own lives

404 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:20.780 Linda Aspey: if they feel there's no way out.

405 00:45:20.930 --> 00:45:26.399 Linda Aspey: and depression. So who may be at most at risk and be feeling unsupported.

406 00:45:27.200 --> 00:45:31.070 Linda Aspey: So I thought I'd ask you to do a mentimeter poll, if you've got a mobile phone

407 00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:38.430 Linda Aspey: and would like to point your camera at that, or, if not, you can visit menti.com

408 00:45:39.210 --> 00:45:40.960 Linda Aspey: and enter this code.

409 00:45:43.360 --> 00:45:49.480 Linda Aspey: and the results will be anonymous. There's only 3 of you, so it won't be a scientific experiment.

410 00:45:55.240 --> 00:45:57.250 Linda Aspey: And there are 3 questions there

411 00:45:57.430 --> 00:45:59.300 Linda Aspey: has everyone been able to get in.

412 00:46:05.350 --> 00:46:09.799 Alison Bruce: I'm not a very modern gal. I'm really not sure what I'm doing with this.

413 00:46:10.005 --> 00:46:12.270 Linda Aspey: If you've got. Have you got a camera on your phone?

414 00:46:12.270 --> 00:46:15.759 Alison Bruce: Yeah, I've taken a picture of it. But what do I do with that?

415 00:46:15.760 --> 00:46:18.330 Linda Aspey: When you, when you point your camera at it.

416 00:46:18.330 --> 00:46:19.330 Alison Bruce: Oh, yeah.

417 00:46:19.330 --> 00:46:24.679 Linda Aspey: There should be a little yellow. There should be like a little yellow triangle that surrounds the code that surrounds.

418 00:46:24.680 --> 00:46:25.980 Alison Bruce: No shit there.

419 00:46:25.980 --> 00:46:26.620 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

420 00:46:26.620 --> 00:46:27.370 Alison Bruce: Oh, God!

421 00:46:27.370 --> 00:46:29.560 Linda Aspey: It's opening. Google Chrome.

422 00:46:30.290 --> 00:46:37.450 Alison Bruce: I'll try again. Cool, because it it has got a

423 00:46:37.600 --> 00:46:42.500 Alison Bruce: a little thing on the front saying it. It works. QR. Codes. It's not doing anything.

424 00:46:42.500 --> 00:46:48.029 Linda Aspey: You just take the camera, open the camera. Have you opened the camera as if you're going to take a picture? But you.

425 00:46:48.030 --> 00:46:49.169 Alison Bruce: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

426 00:46:50.030 --> 00:46:53.300 Linda Aspey: And have you? Does it show you a little little yellow outline.

427 00:46:53.300 --> 00:46:58.560 Alison Bruce: No, I've just got the QR. Code as if I'm going to take a picture of it.

428 00:46:58.720 --> 00:47:05.439 Linda Aspey: Okay. In that case, would you like to try the other route which is typing in menti.com into your search engine.

429 00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:06.460 Alison Bruce: Oh, okay.

430 00:47:07.508 --> 00:47:11.150 Linda Aspey: That 8 digit code there.

431 00:47:11.820 --> 00:47:12.650 Alison Bruce: Okay.

432 00:47:14.080 --> 00:47:21.699 Alison Bruce: this is where your talk might take longer. If you have old farts like me, who can't get it right.

433 00:47:21.810 --> 00:47:22.600 Alison Bruce: Oh.

434 00:47:22.600 --> 00:47:26.230 Linda Aspey: You only need to learn it once, and then I'm sure you'll know it again.

435 00:47:26.230 --> 00:47:29.759 Alison Bruce: Oh, oh, I see. Oh, it's giving me the yeah. 1, 7.

436 00:47:36.740 --> 00:47:38.960 Alison Bruce: Oh, okay. Are we meant to be doing it now?

437 00:47:38.960 --> 00:47:40.300 Linda Aspey: Yeah, please do the call. Now.

438 00:47:41.020 --> 00:47:41.530 Alison Bruce: He is.

439 00:47:41.530 --> 00:47:43.340 Linda Aspey: Going to stop the share for the moment.

440 00:47:45.170 --> 00:47:48.869 Linda Aspey: and I'm going to leave you for a second to score those questions.

441 00:47:56.570 --> 00:48:00.810 Linda Aspey: Let's go to my Paul.

442 00:48:07.720 --> 00:48:08.920 Linda Aspey: and

443 00:48:12.680 --> 00:48:15.319 Linda Aspey: let me know when you've done your score.

444 00:48:17.800 --> 00:48:18.599 Alison Bruce: Done it.

445 00:48:18.910 --> 00:48:19.740 Linda Aspey: Lovely.

446 00:48:39.330 --> 00:48:43.769 Linda Aspey: Everyone completed your 3 questions.

447 00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:44.290 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yes.

448 00:48:44.290 --> 00:48:44.970 Linda Aspey: Have you?

449 00:48:45.090 --> 00:48:47.320 Linda Aspey: Yep, all done.

450 00:48:51.190 --> 00:48:52.770 Jonathan Cooke: Yes, put mine in.

451 00:48:52.990 --> 00:48:57.080 Linda Aspey: Great lovely. Okay, let's have a look at the results. If you're all done

452 00:49:02.340 --> 00:49:05.960 Linda Aspey: so, all this is really encouraging. Can you see that.

453 00:49:07.530 --> 00:49:14.199 Linda Aspey: What's your relationship with Burnout? So we're going to view the results? Oh, no, it says no results. Yet that's not true.

454 00:49:15.580 --> 00:49:19.079 Linda Aspey: How close are you feeling to burnout? That's really encouraging.

455 00:49:19.530 --> 00:49:23.350 Linda Aspey: 3.3 out of 10 as a as a collective.

456 00:49:24.220 --> 00:49:28.300 Linda Aspey: How close to burnout we've been in the last 5 years or so, 5 out of 10,

457 00:49:29.310 --> 00:49:36.499 Linda Aspey: and you have colleagues who've experienced burnout in the last 5 years or so. I'm just going to refresh that because I'm just going to make sure we've got all of all the results in.

458 00:49:37.190 --> 00:49:38.359 Linda Aspey: Yes, that's right.

459 00:49:38.480 --> 00:49:44.929 Linda Aspey: So there we go. So well, I'm pleased to meet such a robust, resilient bunch.

460 00:49:46.170 --> 00:49:47.360 Linda Aspey: Good!

461 00:49:47.720 --> 00:49:49.730 Linda Aspey: That's that's really good to see.

462 00:49:50.150 --> 00:49:52.359 Linda Aspey: Okay, I'm going to stop that share now.

463 00:49:53.680 --> 00:49:56.080 Linda Aspey: So anybody surprised.

464 00:49:57.850 --> 00:50:04.189 Alison Bruce: Hmm! Don't know. I mean, the way I do it is this is just the long haul.

465 00:50:04.420 --> 00:50:25.140 Alison Bruce: and you have to just do what you can do, I mean, I know a friend of mine says, Well, I've I've just got doesn't matter about me, and I say, yes, it does. If you burn yourself out now we don't have you. You are so valuable we can't risk you burning out. And yeah, and the other thing for me, I think is that

466 00:50:25.190 --> 00:50:37.089 Alison Bruce: I'm part of a group of 15 green councillors on the district, and we have each other, and everybody else is doing stuff, and we keep an eye out for each other.

467 00:50:37.160 --> 00:50:47.889 Alison Bruce: And I think just feeling like you are with people, other people who have some understanding of what we're trying to face, and what we're trying to do is absolutely crucial.

468 00:50:48.120 --> 00:50:55.600 Linda Aspey: Absolutely absolutely. Yes, absolutely couldn't agree more. It just feels like you're you're you've

469 00:50:56.220 --> 00:51:04.540 Linda Aspey: so lovely and in terms of time, because we start a little bit late, because I was just waiting for some people. I'm going to talk through the next slide. That's okay. So some signs

470 00:51:04.970 --> 00:51:08.470 Linda Aspey: unusual increased unprolonged irritability.

471 00:51:08.720 --> 00:51:16.490 Linda Aspey: You know, you might be noticing people or yourself sometimes, and I think the key thing you hear about is this is a bit like stress.

472 00:51:17.250 --> 00:51:43.360 Linda Aspey: If someone is stressed here, and that that's fine. But I think what we look for in terms of mental health is what's unusual for this person, or what's increased or prolonged and particularly prolonged when it comes to burnout so, and if someone's just an irritable old git, then they're just irritable, you know. But if it's something new for the person, and it's or it's increased. And it's prolonged. So irritability and lowered tolerance to stressful events and people

473 00:51:44.230 --> 00:51:45.650 Linda Aspey: visible overwhelm

474 00:51:46.190 --> 00:52:00.839 Linda Aspey: avoidance behaviours. I've often worked with people who've confessed, you know, and I use that word as they've described it, to actually keeping 2 years of papers in a particular file because they just couldn't bear to face it. So it's a piece of work. They've not been able to touch

475 00:52:01.190 --> 00:52:08.260 Linda Aspey: emotional outbursts, loss of confidence that they're not on top of it, self isolation

476 00:52:08.490 --> 00:52:14.009 Linda Aspey: keeping themselves away from people making poor decisions or being indecisive.

477 00:52:14.390 --> 00:52:22.890 Linda Aspey: having to serve sleep. All of these are normal signs of stress that's either not being able to sleep, not getting off to sleep or waking up, and not being able to go back.

478 00:52:23.390 --> 00:52:30.560 Linda Aspey: Some kind of change in appetite, whether that's more or less or junk eating wrong foods.

479 00:52:30.680 --> 00:52:35.060 Linda Aspey: some kind of self-medication, alcohol, tobacco, drugs.

480 00:52:35.884 --> 00:52:43.739 Linda Aspey: headaches, more headaches, more backaches than usual backache still is one of the largest causes of sick days in the Uk.

481 00:52:44.240 --> 00:52:53.260 Linda Aspey: And a depleted immune system. You might have experienced that when you go on holiday, desperate to go on holiday. The second you go, you get a cold, or a cough or flu.

482 00:52:53.500 --> 00:52:58.610 Linda Aspey: So these are sort of signs that you were just at the edge of that, and your immune system was depleted.

483 00:52:58.980 --> 00:53:09.060 Linda Aspey: So something's happening behind this on the brain. So it'll be useful to have a look at what's going on in the brain. Well, our preconfrontal cortex is our executive function.

484 00:53:09.330 --> 00:53:20.029 Linda Aspey: This helps us make good decisions, and it helps us to think things through. Well, and it's our, it's our higher function. It's the later part of our evolutionary brain.

485 00:53:20.220 --> 00:53:23.569 Linda Aspey: And this is deactivated by chronic stress.

486 00:53:23.900 --> 00:53:39.349 Linda Aspey: You can't maintain the same kind of social relationships when you're in a period of constant stress, because of all the avoidance that you have to do to just cope. So it massively affects our decision making and our executive functions, our thinking, our problem solving

487 00:53:39.510 --> 00:53:43.450 Linda Aspey: and so forth, and are relational, our relationships.

488 00:53:43.630 --> 00:53:53.700 Linda Aspey: It also impacts on the amygdala, which is the gateway in our brain that makes a decision about how we're going to deal with incoming information normally, in the name of threats.

489 00:53:54.030 --> 00:53:57.710 Linda Aspey: and our amygdala is a region about the size of an almond

490 00:53:57.870 --> 00:54:23.900 Linda Aspey: in the central middle brain that becomes over activated. This is the one that helps to activate the fight, flight, syndrome that fight flight complex. And think of the amygdala as being a little bit like Oxford Circus. There's all these different tube lines. You can go to all these escalators, and the amygdala decides which one this incoming threat, or it could be internally generated. Threat could be externally, but it could be internal. This becomes over activated.

491 00:54:24.330 --> 00:54:40.339 Linda Aspey: this floods, this causes 3 responses because it's our threat detection mechanism. And it's simply reactive. It's a bit like road rage. No one's going to, you know. Road rage can just whoosh! Even though someone's not pointing a gun at you. So it just reacts to the moment.

492 00:54:40.800 --> 00:55:05.209 Linda Aspey: And the hippocampus. This is part of our sense making and memory system and our learning system, and this shrinks under prolonged stress, and there are actual physical signs of brain changes, our grey matter becomes thinner and less knitted when we're under. When we've gone through prolonged

493 00:55:05.380 --> 00:55:06.220 Linda Aspey: burnout

494 00:55:06.680 --> 00:55:32.340 Linda Aspey: and neurochemically, other things that are happening that actually then support all of these changes and make them into a sort of cycle. We have increased and chronic elevation of cortisol, which is our stress. One of our leading stress hormones. This leads to adrenal activity, and if we don't have anywhere to run, we're not going to bunch somebody on the nose and fight or flight. Then we get into a state of exhaustion and immune suppression.

495 00:55:33.200 --> 00:55:42.470 Linda Aspey: Our dopamine, which is our pleasure mechanisms, our reward mechanisms, these get to low levels. So we have less pleasure in life.

496 00:55:42.650 --> 00:55:49.750 Linda Aspey: we're less able to pay attention. We feel less motivated. So it's no wonder people turn to chocolate, really.

497 00:55:52.260 --> 00:56:07.570 Linda Aspey: And then we have oxytocin at low levels, and our oxytocin is one of our major bonding hormones. It's our social hormone, and we have lower levels of oxytocin during brain during burnout. So that reduces our capacity and need for social connection.

498 00:56:08.920 --> 00:56:16.239 Linda Aspey: And it's really important, I think, that we realize that burnout is not just fatigue. It's a full body, neurological and psychological shutdown.

499 00:56:19.290 --> 00:56:45.009 Linda Aspey: And I'll talk very briefly about polyvagal theory. There's a lot of work being done around polyvagal theory. And we can learn some of this theory to help us to moderate our own responses. It's based around 3 areas of our vagus nerve which has a sort of primitive fight fight, freeze response at the bottom or the freeze response. Sorry. That's the 1st thing that a chameleon does. If you see a chameleon doesn't jump at you.

500 00:56:45.120 --> 00:56:47.599 Linda Aspey: It freezes, it pretends to play, is dead.

501 00:56:47.940 --> 00:56:54.119 Linda Aspey: So it's our oldest branch of our nerve. It's immobilization. Doesn't know what to do. Doesn't have time to think. Just switches off.

502 00:56:55.290 --> 00:57:06.430 Linda Aspey: and then we've got the fight flight, which then mobilizes itself, stimulates the adrenals. Cortisol makes us activate, and we then get into taking action.

503 00:57:06.640 --> 00:57:15.869 Linda Aspey: And then the 3rd part is our social engagement, which is our ventral nervous vagus. And this is where we get attunement. This is when we're using our higher brains.

504 00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:27.689 Linda Aspey: and that this whole system really has 2 branches, the sympathetic, which is the on. Let's run. Let's fight. Let's immobilise. And the parasympathetic, which is, let's switch this off. Let's calm down. Let's breathe.

505 00:57:28.210 --> 00:57:39.650 Linda Aspey: So this vagus nerve plays a massively important role in emotional regulation. And the polyvagal theories have been, you know, really quite groundbreaking in the last 1020 years or so.

506 00:57:40.260 --> 00:57:47.180 Linda Aspey: So I'm not going to go into that. But it's just a visual of it. Social engagement, you know, freeze and fight flight or social engagement.

507 00:57:48.950 --> 00:57:55.430 Linda Aspey: So I'm not going to do pairs going to ask you what contributes to your well-being. Let's have one thing you do

508 00:57:56.010 --> 00:57:58.439 Linda Aspey: that contributes to your well-being.

509 00:58:03.090 --> 00:58:03.970 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Hardening.

510 00:58:05.440 --> 00:58:07.779 Linda Aspey: Sorry Gary can't hear you terribly. Well.

511 00:58:07.780 --> 00:58:10.129 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yeah, I'm in a noisy office gardening, I said.

512 00:58:10.130 --> 00:58:11.550 Linda Aspey: Oh, yes.

513 00:58:13.480 --> 00:58:14.250 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

514 00:58:17.280 --> 00:58:18.400 Alison Bruce: Well on it.

515 00:58:18.660 --> 00:58:19.210 Jonathan Cooke: Maybe take.

516 00:58:19.210 --> 00:58:20.470 Alison Bruce: Jonathan. Sorry.

517 00:58:20.880 --> 00:58:21.770 Linda Aspey: Meditating.

518 00:58:21.770 --> 00:58:22.620 Jonathan Cooke: Meditating.

519 00:58:22.620 --> 00:58:23.720 Linda Aspey: Yeah, yeah.

520 00:58:25.290 --> 00:58:42.289 Alison Bruce: If only I did what you 2 do. That's what I mean to do. But I have never been to the pub as much as I do now, and that's not to drink. I'll have a half pint of cider, and that's it. But it's that social atmosphere with friends, and that is lovely.

521 00:58:43.190 --> 00:58:57.629 Linda Aspey: And I think that's really important that we do what works for us, because we're more like to keep it up. If somebody said to you. Look, you've got to start doing from couch to coach, and you've got to do it in this month, or go to Park Run and get up at 7 on a Sunday morning. Oh, no.

522 00:58:57.630 --> 00:59:11.150 Alison Bruce: I could. I would love to do both of those things that they said. I'm just not organized enough, and I always say, Oh, no, I haven't got time. I mean, my garden out there looks like a forest, and I really should, because it does. You're right, Gary. It makes you feel lovely.

523 00:59:11.900 --> 00:59:21.110 Linda Aspey: Do you know what? I don't know? If you find the same thing, you know, if you're at work and you don't get something finished. It's a horrible feeling, because you go to work the next day, and it's all still there.

524 00:59:21.230 --> 00:59:24.679 Linda Aspey: There's something different about gardening, because you're never finished in the garden.

525 00:59:26.340 --> 00:59:35.100 Linda Aspey: There's always more you could do, because there's always something more to tweak or to cut, or to repot or to plant. But it doesn't seem to cause me stress. Are you the same, Gary?

526 00:59:37.690 --> 00:59:38.200 Linda Aspey: Oh, he's.

527 00:59:38.200 --> 00:59:42.939 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Well, no, not really, because I leave most of it to my wife to be honest with you.

528 00:59:44.650 --> 00:59:45.910 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: The way that's it.

529 00:59:45.910 --> 00:59:52.020 Alison Bruce: I was. Gonna say, yes. So when you say gardening, what you mean is, you sit in a deck chair and watch your wife do the gardening.

530 00:59:52.020 --> 00:59:54.780 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Leg chair actually is swings as well. So it's even better.

531 00:59:54.780 --> 00:59:58.690 Linda Aspey: I like that. I like that. You can outsource your burnout strategies.

532 01:00:01.140 --> 01:00:02.299 Linda Aspey: Well, there you go!

533 01:00:02.770 --> 01:00:08.969 Linda Aspey: Oh, there you go! Great! So every strategy is different for everybody.

534 01:00:10.670 --> 01:00:31.890 Linda Aspey: and I'm going to talk through some strategies you may already be doing those you may know about these, but if nothing else today might just be a reminder of what you need to do more of. So the 1st thing and you said it beautifully before Alison is put is self-care. If you can't. If you're not looking after yourself by putting your own oxygen mask on first, st you're just not in a position to help others.

535 01:00:33.000 --> 01:00:57.970 Linda Aspey: Sleep is just so essential. There's loads of research around the benefits of sleep, not only for mental well-being, but for our physical health and also for our disease prevention. While we're asleep. All sorts of autophagic things are going around the cancer, killing autophagia are going around our bodies, scooping up all these free radicals, helping to reduce our likelihood of cancer, heart disease, and so forth.

536 01:00:58.150 --> 01:01:05.909 Linda Aspey: And so sleep is a regenerative process. It also regenerates during the brain, and lots and lots of wonderful things are happening during sleep.

537 01:01:06.750 --> 01:01:16.359 Linda Aspey: and there's also then rest, which is not the same as sleep. A protected time for not working a chance to be somewhere else. Put your head somewhere else. Different.

538 01:01:16.960 --> 01:01:23.429 Linda Aspey: And nature and new research more and more research is showing. It's the moments, not the minutes, that matter.

539 01:01:23.960 --> 01:01:46.619 Linda Aspey: If you don't have time to be in the garden for an hour, or go for a long walk every day. It's actually just the moments and 20 min is optimal, but even less than that is fine. Find a sit spot. It's as good as a walk in terms of your mental health, not your physical health, of course, but it's the moments that matter. So even if all you did was each day go out and look at a flower for 5 min.

540 01:01:47.258 --> 01:01:55.330 Linda Aspey: There would be a mark. There would be an improvement on your mental health, because you feel more nature connected, anyway. So it's the moments, not the minutes

541 01:01:56.430 --> 01:02:00.470 Linda Aspey: and nutrition. You are what you eat, and you are what you drink.

542 01:02:01.210 --> 01:02:07.159 Linda Aspey: and it's 1 of those things that slips off when we're feeling stressed. As I said, chocolate becomes even more appealing.

543 01:02:07.390 --> 01:02:17.670 Linda Aspey: But you know, in the in the Uk ultra processed foods now form nearly between half and 65% of the daily energy intake of adults

544 01:02:17.870 --> 01:02:22.449 Linda Aspey: 65, 51, 65%. And that goes up in teenagers.

545 01:02:23.380 --> 01:02:30.089 Linda Aspey: So ultra processed foods have very little nutritional value. And they're not real foods that you'd find in cupboards.

546 01:02:30.230 --> 01:02:43.439 Linda Aspey: And of course, the busier we get the more we buy packet food and all of that. So it's really important thinking about what you eat and what you drink. Because 5% of our plane, 0 point 5% of our brains are now plastic.

547 01:02:44.370 --> 01:03:03.989 Linda Aspey: And the plastic's been found in breast milk. It's been found in the testes. It's been found in our ovaries. It's been found in our blood, in our liver in our lungs, so we're inhaling it. We're breathing it, and we're taking it in when we well-meaningly buy water bottles, and we put them out in the sun. And then we have a little drink of lukewarm water.

548 01:03:04.452 --> 01:03:11.629 Linda Aspey: So so what you drink, and it's so important, we drink water 55 to 78% of our body is water

549 01:03:12.020 --> 01:03:23.500 Linda Aspey: much higher and young in, in children as well at the high end in children. So if we're not drinking enough water, and that's an easy win then. Well, the rest of our body can't do its job very well. And that's

550 01:03:23.650 --> 01:03:30.859 Linda Aspey: really really important stress. We are water. We come from water, we'll go back to it. And the water. We're.

551 01:03:31.140 --> 01:03:45.019 Linda Aspey: you know, we're in a closed planetary system with just 6 kilometers around our earth of atmosphere. Every water, every bit of water that's been created on earth, is still in this earth from the day it time began. So we've got a limited system, and so there.

552 01:03:45.500 --> 01:04:03.279 Linda Aspey: so and then, self-compassion, mindfulness. That's another self-care strategy. I think I've got these bullet points just slightly out of sync there. But self-care in terms of self-compassion. A lot of work has been done around self-compassion and the role of that. And there's a little self-compassion questionnaire I've put into the resources

553 01:04:03.890 --> 01:04:10.489 Linda Aspey: which can actually really help in terms of, because it's very interesting until you realize how harsh you're being on yourself.

554 01:04:10.830 --> 01:04:19.219 Linda Aspey: And that's you know, you wouldn't speak to a friend in the way we speak to ourselves sometimes, and you do a question, and you think I really do do that?

555 01:04:19.640 --> 01:04:38.599 Linda Aspey: So mindfulness, as Jonathan said, learning to breathe differently because our breathing becomes shorter, becomes much shorter in our body, becomes from the top of the chest, instead of from the lower abdomen and other regulation strategies, self-soothing those kind of things, and learning different strategies to

556 01:04:38.860 --> 01:04:43.460 Linda Aspey: to as antidotes to a harsh, very harsh, brutal, rushed life

557 01:04:44.050 --> 01:05:06.040 Linda Aspey: and exercise a healthy body for daily living and for future wellness, because we're going to be facing tougher times, and I don't want to spend those tougher times in hospital with somebody else wheeling me around until the very last minute if I can avoid it. So those kind of things. So that's self-care strategy one, and that's if only you did that. That's massive, just massive.

558 01:05:07.120 --> 01:05:13.519 Linda Aspey: and gratitude, fun and joy. It gives us chance to restore and reconnect and to change our brains.

559 01:05:13.920 --> 01:05:20.299 Linda Aspey: And you know it's a big question. We asked ourselves the other week in a seminar. How do we find joy in a world full of horror.

560 01:05:21.220 --> 01:05:26.330 Linda Aspey: and lots of people said, Well, should I? Does that feel right to?

561 01:05:26.860 --> 01:05:33.830 Linda Aspey: Does that feel right? Given what's going on? And we kind of came full circle and realized. If we can't find those moments of joy, we're just not fit enough

562 01:05:33.960 --> 01:05:39.180 Linda Aspey: to play our part, and joy and gratitude and fun do change our brain.

563 01:05:40.150 --> 01:05:47.219 Linda Aspey: So self-care. Number 2, and so 3 elements of self-compassion, self-kindness versus self-judgment.

564 01:05:47.420 --> 01:05:54.890 Linda Aspey: You know I've had a tough time. It's been difficult, and I you know. No wonder I lost my temper versus what an idiot I am!

565 01:05:55.780 --> 01:06:08.410 Linda Aspey: Common humanity versus isolation. I'm not the only one struggling at this time. It's not just me. It's not me being difficult all the time. It's you know. Other people are struggling, too. We're all human here.

566 01:06:08.840 --> 01:06:15.839 Linda Aspey: and mindfulness over identification, you know, just being mindful of what's going on rather than this is all my fault

567 01:06:16.140 --> 01:06:24.270 Linda Aspey: that everything has to do with. You know what I've done over identification. So there's a little self assessment you might want to take and share with your team

568 01:06:25.530 --> 01:06:29.109 Linda Aspey: strategy. 2 is recognizing the early signs about Burnout

569 01:06:29.590 --> 01:06:34.759 Linda Aspey: being aware that one of the early signs is dropping the things you would normally do to maintain your well-being.

570 01:06:36.200 --> 01:06:43.049 Linda Aspey: One of the very earliest signs is, if you're not doing those things you normally do. That's time for remedial action.

571 01:06:43.780 --> 01:06:51.539 Linda Aspey: Second, is to listen. If your family and friends and colleagues express concern for your well-being, thank them, take action

572 01:06:51.910 --> 01:06:55.720 Linda Aspey: because they might be in the compassionate self. You've forgotten how to be

573 01:06:57.170 --> 01:07:17.880 Linda Aspey: read upon well-being and nutrition when you find out more. If you only read one book from today. Then read ultra Processed People, by Chris Van Tulleken. You'll never eat another oreo again, or packet soup or pot noodle, so being informed will help you recognize and stay aware.

574 01:07:18.410 --> 01:07:32.870 Linda Aspey: And if you see someone showing early signs, ask how you can support. Often people think they have to struggle alone, and it's a sign of still a sign of weakness in some parts of society to say that. But show show that, and be be human yourself too.

575 01:07:33.830 --> 01:07:42.649 Linda Aspey: Strategy 3. Alison. You talked about going to the pub with social beings in a social context belonging and feeling valued are really important.

576 01:07:43.300 --> 01:07:48.330 Linda Aspey: So, being willing to talk and ask for a sport for support, being understood.

577 01:07:49.030 --> 01:07:54.260 Linda Aspey: that actually, when when someone says, I understand you or they show they understand you

578 01:07:54.440 --> 01:07:57.980 Linda Aspey: because it's interesting when we say to someone, thank you for listening.

579 01:07:58.090 --> 01:08:04.830 Linda Aspey: what a gift that is when someone does and being understood activates brain regions associated with reward.

580 01:08:05.210 --> 01:08:12.569 Linda Aspey: it actually activates dopamine. So we give somebody a little gift of reward when when we understand them

581 01:08:13.550 --> 01:08:34.430 Linda Aspey: and be willing to listen and understand and offer support to others clearly, once you're recovered, not instead of self-care, because that takes you right back to over caring over, committing over, engaging with others. And that's often a strategy that we find in climate activists who haven't addressed their own emotional needs is they rush to address others.

582 01:08:35.240 --> 01:08:48.909 Linda Aspey: and I was guilty of that myself. It was only until I realized along my journey that I was rushing around helping everybody to be strong when I actually hadn't even grieved myself. So these are quite common things.

583 01:08:49.470 --> 01:08:54.030 Linda Aspey: Join where you can with others. Whatever your actions are, us is stronger than me.

584 01:08:54.160 --> 01:08:56.350 Linda Aspey: It always has, and it always will be.

585 01:08:56.819 --> 01:09:17.180 Linda Aspey: and also remember that others includes the rest of nature, but it needs to be in the spirit of reciprocity. Nature feeds me, and I feed it back in some way, if we continue just to take from nature without thinking, how can I reciprocate what nature is doing for me, even if it's just in terms of thanking the tree, you know, whatever happens to be, however spiritual, want to go with it or not.

586 01:09:17.479 --> 01:09:25.039 Linda Aspey: But but it, you know others are are the rest of the world in which we live. Did you know that

587 01:09:25.140 --> 01:09:33.850 Linda Aspey: we have between scientists vary but one of the world leading scientists on on our intelligence?

588 01:09:35.453 --> 01:09:37.799 Linda Aspey: Catherine Catherine

589 01:09:37.930 --> 01:09:54.200 Linda Aspey: Hayes, N. Katherine Hales, N. Katherine Hales, HAYL. A. ES. Who specializes in human and other forms of intelligence, says that we have more than 10 times non-human cells in our body than we have human cells.

590 01:09:55.070 --> 01:10:00.800 Linda Aspey: Bacteria viruses, fungi all helping us. We're an ecosystem in our own right?

591 01:10:02.710 --> 01:10:10.289 Linda Aspey: So this is a summary. If we are, if we have good feelings day to day and overall, we experience happiness, joy, contentment

592 01:10:10.770 --> 01:10:14.390 Linda Aspey: that enables us to be well functioning. This is a loop

593 01:10:14.810 --> 01:10:41.269 Linda Aspey: with good functioning that gives us good feelings, that we're autonomous, competent, safe, secure, connected to others. If we have the personal resources, the health, the resilience, the optimism, the self-esteem, and we have the right kind of external conditions to help. This will help us to become in a flourishing state, and that they're a very delicate ecobalance in themselves, and if one part is out of kilter, then the rest could fall.

594 01:10:42.680 --> 01:10:49.240 Linda Aspey: So what's 1 meaningful change you might make to avoid or repair burnout, if you wouldn't mind sharing

595 01:10:53.040 --> 01:11:00.389 Linda Aspey: actually, before I do that, I rattles like a train any questions or reflections.

596 01:11:04.170 --> 01:11:10.780 Alison Bruce: I'm the one doing all of the talking. Just you chat, say something if you want to, but it

597 01:11:11.250 --> 01:11:16.660 Alison Bruce: I guess I probably didn't not know any of that, but I can't

598 01:11:17.020 --> 01:11:22.679 Alison Bruce: organise it in my head enough. So that was really useful to to think about.

599 01:11:25.100 --> 01:11:32.609 Alison Bruce: And yeah, I mean, I. Yeah, I think I probably need to go out and do some more of the gardening. But I'm just thinking how

600 01:11:33.530 --> 01:11:42.709 Alison Bruce: it's all very well. I mean, I think we're probably all doing this in some way, because of the reasons we've talked about, and I remember my nephew saying.

601 01:11:43.220 --> 01:11:52.460 Alison Bruce: Want to join exile. They're all singing and dancing and being happy. And I'm thinking, Yeah, exactly. You have to. But I'm thinking about how

602 01:11:53.250 --> 01:12:07.779 Alison Bruce: how we can use all of that without preaching to get other people in the community to acknowledge all of these issues rather than just them, saying, Well, you get on with it, because in some way, people will

603 01:12:08.800 --> 01:12:14.849 Alison Bruce: probably be aware of it, you know. I don't know how to apply this, then, to what we're trying to deal with.

604 01:12:14.850 --> 01:12:19.319 Linda Aspey: Yeah. And when you say we, are you talking about the council, or are you talking about Xr.

605 01:12:20.860 --> 01:12:27.109 Alison Bruce: Anybody, everybody who are trying to deal with these kind of climate issues. Yeah.

606 01:12:27.110 --> 01:12:27.585 Linda Aspey: Okay.

607 01:12:28.250 --> 01:12:44.460 Linda Aspey: maybe there's another. I mean, I've probably not enough time to cover that today. But maybe there's another session on. You know more of that. I do a session on community engagement, but it's community rather than counselling councillor engagement. But we could look at that.

608 01:12:44.460 --> 01:12:56.259 Alison Bruce: That doesn't matter. I mean, we've talked about doing citizens, assemblies, people's assemblies. We did do one as an experiment, but just with other councillors who were trying it out. But

609 01:12:56.440 --> 01:12:59.181 Alison Bruce: that's 1 way, I guess.

610 01:12:59.980 --> 01:13:02.039 Alison Bruce: If people are going to be willing to come.

611 01:13:02.320 --> 01:13:07.650 Alison Bruce: you know I don't know. But yes, that that might be a useful thing to have. Thank you. Yeah.

612 01:13:07.650 --> 01:13:10.120 Linda Aspey: Absolutely absolutely. Yeah.

613 01:13:10.680 --> 01:13:17.600 Linda Aspey: Gary, how about you any observations, questions, or Jonathan observations, questions, reflections?

614 01:13:24.540 --> 01:13:25.230 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

615 01:13:25.930 --> 01:13:29.885 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: I was leaving it to Jonathan to come in. No, not really

616 01:13:32.190 --> 01:13:34.330 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Like Alison

617 01:13:34.830 --> 01:13:43.220 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: pretty much, you know you. You know all this stuff it's putting into practice is the is the key element. And I'm going to do the opposite to Alison. I'm going to go down the pub more.

618 01:13:45.270 --> 01:13:49.629 Alison Bruce: I can recommend it as long as you don't have too much to drink and go with mates.

619 01:13:50.990 --> 01:13:51.920 Linda Aspey: Absolutely.

620 01:13:53.120 --> 01:13:53.860 Linda Aspey: Yeah.

621 01:13:54.020 --> 01:13:55.899 Linda Aspey: Jonathan, anything from you?

622 01:13:58.436 --> 01:14:00.600 Jonathan Cooke: No, I don't think so at the moment. Thank you.

623 01:14:00.600 --> 01:14:02.289 Linda Aspey: Okay, all right. Thank you.

624 01:14:02.480 --> 01:14:08.750 Linda Aspey: So I'm just going to go back to the slides for final share cool.

625 01:14:09.230 --> 01:14:18.250 Linda Aspey: So what we've got here is, if you want to connect with me, please do. I'm on Linkedin just my name Linda Aspi, or my website's my surname, or also just Google Linda Aspi.

626 01:14:19.063 --> 01:14:19.726 Linda Aspey: And

627 01:14:20.590 --> 01:14:29.990 Linda Aspey: I also want to mention the climate Psychology Alliance offers. We have a directory service. So just contact the climate Psychology Alliance. Just Google that.

628 01:14:30.180 --> 01:14:53.200 Linda Aspey: And we have a bank of therapists that offer time 3 free sessions to anybody that's currently feeling anxious about the climate and the environment. It's very specifically related to that. But there aren't any, as far as I'm aware, free services that are offering that to the general public on any sort of burnout issue. So this is whilst it's very related to climate, it is related to climate.

629 01:14:53.200 --> 01:15:03.460 Linda Aspey: So with the therapist there, you can look at the Directory service and contact any therapist that appeals. And there's also a central central email address.

630 01:15:04.007 --> 01:15:11.999 Linda Aspey: and also for we do. We run climate, cafe listening circles. Those are open to the public. You'll find those on our website.

631 01:15:12.250 --> 01:15:17.890 Linda Aspey: And they're just places and spaces where people can come. And we also offer training

632 01:15:18.010 --> 01:15:44.429 Linda Aspey: Cpa for people to run climate cafe listening circles in their communities. And these are ways to begin to get people to connect. And I run the training. I'm leading on the training, and we've just got it's a lovely, as I say it myself. We've designed the training in a way that really equips people who might not normally be facilitators. So you don't need to be a therapist or a psychologist. In fact, we prefer the opposite that the listening circles are for citizens by citizens.

633 01:15:45.180 --> 01:15:48.979 Linda Aspey: So if you want to have a chat about that and and let me know.

634 01:15:49.080 --> 01:16:04.840 Linda Aspey: And we also run youth circles at climate psychology events. So if you've got some concerns about young people. We run youth groups. They're free online. And we've also just developing a partnership now with the climate majority project

635 01:16:05.080 --> 01:16:07.890 Linda Aspey: and the mindfulness initiative.

636 01:16:08.360 --> 01:16:13.490 Linda Aspey: And it's called the Icra Project, which is the Inner climate Resilience Alliance.

637 01:16:14.080 --> 01:16:17.709 Linda Aspey: And that's just 1 1.5 million pound of lottery funding.

638 01:16:18.040 --> 01:16:27.610 Linda Aspey: And we're just currently shaping that up. And that's going to give us capacity to reach out more to the general public and to community and place-based initiatives

639 01:16:27.750 --> 01:16:32.950 Linda Aspey: to help people locally to run things for inner resilience as well.

640 01:16:34.660 --> 01:16:38.939 Linda Aspey: And there's some references on the slides. You'll get these. You'll get these references.

641 01:16:40.390 --> 01:16:45.470 Linda Aspey: so I'll stop the share now, and it's exactly 3 15.

642 01:16:45.660 --> 01:16:47.459 Linda Aspey: It's a bit rushed, but.

643 01:16:48.940 --> 01:17:02.479 Alison Bruce: But it didn't feel rushed from my point of view, I would say, and you just answered my question, which I thought was going to be in the affirmative that we will get those slides. Yeah, yeah, no, that was really useful. Thank you.

644 01:17:02.690 --> 01:17:07.470 Linda Aspey: Good. Thank you, Alison. Thank you for being here, particularly at such short notice.

645 01:17:08.630 --> 01:17:10.229 Linda Aspey: Thanks, Gary and Jonathan.

646 01:17:10.660 --> 01:17:11.280 Jonathan Cooke: Yes, thank you.

647 01:17:11.280 --> 01:17:11.800 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Thanks, Led.

648 01:17:11.800 --> 01:17:13.250 Jonathan Cooke: Interesting thanks.

649 01:17:13.500 --> 01:17:16.319 Linda Aspey: Thanks. Okay. Bye-bye.

Markdown copy of Linda's presentation (for AI search engine):

# Wellbeing Matters  
**Avoiding burnout and finding balance in an ailing world**  
*With Linda Aspey, 3 July 2025*

---

## The Great Collaboration  
Developing leaders & caring, adaptive cultures for a rapidly changing world.

---

## Today’s Session – We’ll Cover

- Context setting  
- What is wellbeing?  
- What is burnout?  
- 3 key strategies for nurturing and restoring wellbeing, balance and resilience  
- Finding out what works for you, and keeping it going!

Includes presentation, group, and pairs discussion.

---

## Why Wellbeing Particularly Matters Now

**How can we be well in an ailing world?**

---

## Definition: What is Wellbeing?

> *"Wellbeing is the fullest embodiment of mental, physical, psychological, and spiritual health, including healthy relationships, social ties, a sense of empowerment and belonging, and emotional resiliency, among other variables."*  
> — World Health Organization

---

## 3 Pillars of Wellbeing (In the Context of Planetary Ecosystems)

- **Physical health**  
- **Social health**  
- **Mental health**

---

## The Happiness Poverty Line (HPL) – UK Data

- **2024**:  
  - 1 in 8 people in UK living below HPL  
  - Regional variance: 5%–25%  
- **2025**:  
  - 650,000 more people below HPL (~10% increase)  
  - ~7 million adults aged 16+ (~10.7%) now below HPL  
  - More than the population of Scotland

---

## What is Burnout?

### 3 Components (Maslach, 2011)

- **Emotional exhaustion**: Drained, meltdowns, ruminating thoughts  
- **Depersonalization / cynicism**: Disengagement, negativity, futility  
- **Reduced sense of accomplishment**: Loss of motivation/focus/purpose

---

## Stress or Burnout?

- **Stress**: worry or tension from difficult situations  
- **Burnout**: exhaustion from prolonged stress or frustration

---

## Discussion  
**What are the common causes of burnout?**

---

## Common Causes of Burnout

- Chronically high workload, fast pace, long hours, lack of support  
- Unclear role expectations, shifting plans  
- Poor work-life balance  
- Chronic illness  
- Poor boundaries, perfectionism  
- Toxic work culture, unresolved issues  
- Climate anxiety / hypomania  
- Living in a collapsing, unjust, exploitative system (polycrisis/metacrisis)

---

## Who Is Most At Risk of Burnout?

Think about people in your circles:

- Carers  
- Case workers  
- Farmers  
- Independent retailers  
- Social/environmental researchers  
- Job seekers  
- Adolescents / young people  
- Careerists  
- Others  
- **YOU**

---

## Discussion  
**What are the signs of burnout?**

---

## Signs of Burnout

- Increased irritability, overwhelm  
- Avoidance, emotional outbursts  
- Confidence loss, indecision  
- Sleep/appetite changes  
- Self-medication  
- Physical pain, weakened immunity

---

## What Happens in the Brain?

- **Prefrontal Cortex**: deactivated → executive function decline  
- **Amygdala**: over-activated → threat reactivity  
- **Hippocampus**: shrinks → memory/learning impairments  

### Neurochemicals

- **Cortisol** ↑ → exhaustion, immune suppression  
- **Dopamine** ↓ → less pleasure/motivation  
- **Oxytocin** ↓ → weaker social bonding

> Burnout = full-body neurological & psychological shutdown

---

## Polyvagal Theory

- ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) = stress response regulation  
- Two branches:
  - **Sympathetic** (arousal/defense)
  - **Parasympathetic** (calming/safety)
- Constant dialogue via **vagus nerve**
- Affects emotion regulation & social connection

---

## In Pairs

**Reflect:**

- What contributes to your wellbeing?  
- What strategies do you use to cultivate wellbeing and resilience?

---

## Strategy 1: Self-Care

- Oxygen mask principle – look after yourself first  
- **Sleep** – restorative process  
- **Rest** – not working  
- **Nature** – moments > minutes  
- **Nutrition** – you are what you eat/drink  
  - UK adults: 51–65% of energy from ultra-processed foods  
  - 0.5% of brain = plastic  
  - Body = 55–78% water  
- **Self-compassion, mindfulness, breathing** – emotional regulation  
- **Exercise** – for daily and future health  
- **Gratitude, fun, joy** – brain reset

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## Self-Compassion – 3 Elements

1. Self-kindness vs self-judgment  
2. Common humanity vs isolation  
3. Mindfulness vs over-identification  

Take the assessment:  
[https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-test/](https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-test/)

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## Strategy 2: Recognise Early Signs of Burnout

- First signs: dropping things that maintain your wellbeing  
- Listen to concerned others – and act  
- Stay informed (nutrition, wellbeing)  
- Support others showing signs

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## Strategy 3: Don’t Do This Alone!

- Humans are social beings; belonging matters  
- Talk & ask for help – it’s rewarding  
- Offer support when you can  
- Join actions collectively – “Us” > “Me”  
- Include nature in the circle of care

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## Going Forward

**What’s one meaningful change you might make to avoid or repair burnout?**

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## Connect with Me

- 📧 Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  
- 🌐 Website: [aspey.com](http://aspey.com)  
- 💼 LinkedIn: lindaaspey

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## References and Resources

- **World Wellbeing Movement**  
  [UK Wellbeing Report 2025](https://worldwellbeingmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/UK-Wellbeing-Report-2025.pdf)

- **WHO on Wellbeing**  
  [www.who.int/activities/promoting-well-being](https://www.who.int/activities/promoting-well-being)

- **Polyvagal Theory**  
  [https://positivepsychology.com/polyvagal-theory/](https://positivepsychology.com/polyvagal-theory/)

- **Ultra-Processed Foods**  
  [BHF on UPFs](https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/ultra-processed-foods)

- **Sleep & Mental Health**  
  [Mental Health Foundation](https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/sleep-and-mental-health)

- **Climate Psychology Alliance**  
  [climatepsychologyalliance.org](https://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/index.php/find-support)

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© Linda Aspey 2025

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