Elspeth Griffiths, Director of People, shares her reflections on a recent physical injury and her surprise at how this impacted her mental health. She discusses how talking openly about a variety of topics including mental health in the workplace is an important aspect of SCW’s wellbeing and culture of belonging.
I have always regarded myself as mentally and physically very robust and have been fortunate to enjoy excellent health with a low record of sickness and absence with only a few days off here and there over my working career. On that basis, I was somewhat taken by surprise by the impact that a physical injury had on my mental health in late 2020 and early 2021. Having now had time to reflect I have considered the impact and the ripple effect that this has had on my relationships and general approach.
Background
In August 2020 I slipped in a friend's garden and broke my ankle. The NHS did its usual sterling work and inserted pins and a cast to mend the break, with a wheelchair and crutches for about three months as part of my rehabilitation and recovery. Throughout the period I continued to work – I couldn’t do much else, to be honest, and I felt that I was okay, busy, and engaged, albeit on my laptop with my leg up in the kitchen. As the immobility and my lack of independence continued, I started to recognise that I was unhappy, irritable and becoming withdrawn (not like me at all) and in hindsight, I think I was quite depressed for a period of time. Interestingly I don’t believe that any of that was demonstrated in my work or to others. I was presenting as my 'normal self' and it's unlikely that anyone would have appreciated or known the negative impact that my relatively straightforward injury was having on me directly.
So why is this of any insight or interest?
It’s really just to highlight that we can all suffer from mental health issues, and they can come out of the blue and in unexpected ways. For me personally, the first step was to recognise that I wasn’t 'right' in myself and that I needed to do something about it. When I was able, I found a friend to walk with at lunchtimes as part of the SCW survive and thrive hour and then started to share my fears, worries, irritations, listen to her advice and hear the personal issues that she was also facing (it really does give some perspective) and also add my support to her. By recognising the issue, and exploring it in a safe space, I was able to share my concerns and put them into context, coming up with a plan of how I could deal with it. My plan involved helping others understand how it was for me. As a natural organiser, independent and resilient person, they were not aware of my feelings - I was carrying on as normal. Once I shared how I was feeling it became more manageable and I was able to move on and stop blaming others for my general unhappiness.
In hindsight, I recognise that it was relatively easy for me to deal with my issues and on reflection, it seems quite simplistic, but it has taught me that we all have our vulnerabilities – I just hadn’t found mine until that point. My specific physical injury impacted my mental health and whilst this did not define me, it did impact me and those closest to me at the time. Here at SCW, I have been an advocate of ‘it’s okay to not be okay’, and once I recognised the issue, I did share it with colleagues at work, sought help, and over time have tried to discuss mental health and resilience more openly with others to explore actions to deliver more positive outcomes.
Encouraging, supporting, and talking more openly about a wide variety of topics such as menopause, mental health, resilience, and diversity is an important aspect of SCW’s wellbeing. It’s a key part of the culture of belonging we are developing and building so that we can be a more healthy organisation in every sense of the word.
If you would like to know more about the work SCW does in Mental Health - Mental health - NHS SCW Support and Transformation for Health and Care (scwcsu.nhs.uk)
If you have any questions, please contact the EDI and Wellbeing team -
