Chambers Wellbeing and Resilience hub

15 May 2022

This Mental Health Awareness Week we have launched our chambers Wellbeing and Resilience hub for the staff and Barristers at GCN.

Work can be a huge factor in poor mental health. Research in 2018 found that a quarter (23%) of us compromise our health to get work done; 16% of us compromise relationships. This statistic alone illustrates how important a supportive chambers can be in promoting positive mental wellbeing among members and staff.

We hope this hub will provide our colleagues with another useful resource which they can use for support with their mental health. It will hopefully also act as another avenue for sharing experiences and advice about wellbeing.

Among the resources we have found useful, and included on our chambers Wellbeing and Resilience hub, are:

• The Bar Council’s Talk to Spot service
• The Bar Council’s Wellbeing at the Bar animation
• The Wellbeing at the Bar website
• Zero Suicide Alliance’s suicide awareness training
• The Mental Health Foundation website.

Supporting Mental Health Awareness Week

Throughout Mental Health Awareness Week, members and staff have been supporting the campaign. They have shared tips and strategies which they employ for looking after themselves, as well as providing some great images of green spaces, hobbies, and, inevitably, pets.

We hope that by sharing their experiences we can continue to normalise conversations about mental health. We also strive to offer continued contributions to the support offered to our colleagues in legal services.

These contributions have been shared via our Twitter page where you will see some of the information we have learnt, such as:

1. Participating in enjoyable activities can help beat stress, and achieving things boosts self-esteem
2. A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health – such as taking a break at work
3. Activity in an outdoor, “green” environment has greater positive effects on wellbeing than activity indoors
4. Interacting with others that “get” you can give you a sense of belonging and help combat loneliness
5. Pets help us to get out and connect with others and time with animals has also been shown to help reduce stress.