JUNE 2023
World Wellbeing Week 26th – 30th June
This month sees the return of World Wellbeing Week, now in its fifth year. This is an opportunity for people to celebrate the many aspects of wellbeing, including financial security, physical, mental and emotional health as well as helping to create healthy communities and respect and care for the environment. Wellbeing affects all aspects of our lives.
The pandemic has changed the way we work and live and our wellbeing has been brought into focus more than ever before, with the importance of good mental and physical health becoming more widely recognised and understood. Here at the Council, we are fortunate to have a Wellbeing Team to help promote Wellbeing support and events which are taking place each month as part of our regular Wellbeing Wednesdays and you can find more information on recent and forthcoming events here: Wellbeing webinars – My Council Works
Men’s Health Week
Men’s Health Week raises awareness of the health issues that affect men disproportionately and focuses on helping men to become more aware of health problems they may have or could develop and to seek advice or support early.
Men can often find it hard to talk about health issues and particularly mental health, so it is important for those around them to be aware of some of the signs that they may be struggling with their mental health.
Men are more likely to use alcohol or drugs to cope with mental health issues, or use escapist behaviours like working excessive hours. They are also most at risk of suicide and are three times as likely to take their own life, than women.
There are things that you can do to help. Simple things like asking if they are OK and if they say “I’m fine, thanks”, try asking again and you may get a different answer, rather than just an automatic response which can then lead on to a discussion about how they are really feeling. Listen without judgement and let them know you are there for them. If required, help them to seek professional help, either through their GP or specialist mental health support services.
The charity Every Mind at Work has produced some helpful fact sheets about male health and you can find them here: Mens-Mental-Health and here Mind-vs-Car
Men’s health and the internet | Men’s Health Forum (menshealthforum.org.uk)
Diabetes Awareness Week
Diabetes Awareness Week (12-16 June) is an annual nationwide event organised by Diabetes UK that encourages people with diabetes to share their experiences.
Diabetes is a condition that can seriously impact a person’s physical and mental health, but because it isn’t always a visible condition, there are many myths and misconceptions about what life with diabetes is like. That’s why the aim of this event is to spread awareness, educate people about what it’s really like to live with diabetes and raise money to support research into diabetes.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus, better known as diabetes, is a group of chronic health conditions that can cause a person’s blood sugar levels to become too high. This is often because the pancreas does not produce enough of the hormone insulin to manage blood sugar levels (Type 1 diabetes), or because the body has developed a resistance to insulin which prevents it from working properly (Type 2 diabetes). Pregnant women can also suffer from a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes.
Diabetes can be brought on by genetic, environmental or lifestyle factors, and it is usually a life-long condition that people need to carefully manage.
How can you get involved?
There are plenty of ways to get involved this Diabetes Awareness Week. Here are a few ideas you could try:
- Take part in a fundraiser: Take the opportunity to do something amazing and raise money towards diabetes research.
- Share your story: This week can be a great chance to share your experiences with others.
- Teach children about diabetes: By teaching your children or pupils about diabetes, you can help to dispel myths and build understanding.
World Blood Donor Day - 14th June
Today is World Blood Donor Day, which was introduced to raise awareness of the need for safe blood products and to give thanks to all those volunteers who freely and regularly donate blood and help to save multiple lives.
The slogan for 2023 World Blood Donor Day campaign this year, is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.” It focuses on patients requiring life-long transfusion support and underlines the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma. It also highlights the importance of giving blood or plasma regularly to create a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products that can be always available, all over the world, so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment.
The objectives of World Blood Donor Day include:
- celebrate and thank individuals who donate blood and encourage more people to become new donors;
- encourage people in good health to donate blood regularly, as often as is safe and possible, to transform the quality of life for transfusion dependent patients and help to build a secure blood supply in all countries in the world;
- highlight the critical roles of voluntary non-remunerated regular blood and plasma donations in achieving universal access to safe blood products for all populations (Source: World Blood Donor Day 2023 (who.int)
Quick Quiz:
- How many different blood types are there?
- What is the most common blood type?
- Which blood group can be safely given to all blood types in an emergency?
- What is the rarest blood type?
- How much blood does the average person have in their body?
Answers at bottom of page.
For more information on becoming a blood donor visit: www.blood.co.uk
Pride Month
Pride Month takes place every year in June and is a celebration designed to recognise the influence of the LGBTQ+ community. Celebrating diversity and people’s right to live how they choose without discrimination, Pride Month promotes positivity and equal rights for all.
Pride Month helps raise awareness of issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and provides an opportunity to celebrate the culture of inclusivity, with parades, street parties, community events and more. Designed to help educate people, Pride Month events are attended by millions of people worldwide.
Why We Celebrate LGBT Pride Month
- In 70 countries around the world, homosexuality is still a crime.
- LGBTQ+ people can face the death penalty in 11 countries.
- Same-sex marriage is only recognised in 29 countries.
- Worldwide, LGBTQ+ people face widespread discrimination, including violence, workplace discrimination, school bullying, and denial of essential services.
You can find out more about Pride Month and this year’s events in Edinburgh (24th June) and Glasgow (15th July).
Pride Events | Home Of Pride Events In The UK And Europe (pride-events.co.uk)
Wellbeing Webinars
Health Assured Webinars
Health Assured WebinarsThank you to everyone who attended our one of our recent short webinars on how to look after our musculoskeletal health at work. The next session will take place on 20th June at 12.00 p.m.
DSE Webinar Session 3 – Tips for multiscreen users
In this webinar, we are recognising the potential multifactorial risks associated with multiscreen use, which are prevalent when using a single monitor though worsened through the regular use of multiple monitors.
Effective considerations for adjustments can help support the reduction of health issues associated with the MSK system, stress, headaches fatigue and tired eyes.
Join us on Tuesday 20th June at 12.00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams meeting
Click here to join the meeting – Meeting ID: 336 367 530 977 – Passcode: Gco6G9
Recordings of the webinars will be available after the events at Wellbeing webinars – My Council Works
This month’s bite size wellbeing webinar from our Employee Assistance Programme provider is: Addiction
You can access via: Webinars | Health Assured (healthassuredeap.co.uk)
Health Assured also provide a free and confidential helpline which is available 24/7 – Tel: 0800 028 0199 or you can download the Health Assured App via Apple Store or Play Store for Android devices.
Answers to Blood Facts Quiz*:
- There are 8 different blood types.
- O positive is the most common of the 8 blood types and accounts for 35% of UK donors.
- O negative is the blood group which can be safely given to all blood types in an emergency, and make up 13% of UK donors?
- AB is the rarest blood type and accounts for only 1% of UK donors.
- The average person has approximately 10 pints of blood in their body and the average blood donation takes 1 pint which the body then makes up again over a period of 12-16 weeks.
*Information sourced from www.blood.co.uk
As always, please let us know your thoughts and ideas about the items featured in our Wellbeing Wednesdays each week and send us your suggestions for future topics – we love to hear from you wellbeing@argyll-bute.gov.uk