collective voice
Social isolation is defined as a complete or near-complete lack of contact with people and society.
Owing to its profound negative impact on health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation is a key priority for many local authorities.
We recently explored the experiences of carers to:
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Relationships are an essential part of our lives; they are all around us in many different shapes and forms. But sometimes we forget how important they can be to our health and wellbeing.
Someone shared this video with me earlier this week, a brilliant video looking at the need to consider long-term health of our brains, which relationships pay a big part in - http://bigthink.com/videos/david-agus-on-long-term-brain-health?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1463269753
When I was starting to think about this, it really took me on a journey through my life and all of the different people who have come and gone, as well as the people I will connect with in the future.
I guess the best place for me to start is: what is a relationship? Now, on the face it seems simple, and if we look at a definition we will find it as the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected. So, in its absolute essence, a relationship is all about connections.
This year's Mental Health Awareness Week is about focusing us all back to the absolute core of what a relationship is, and why they are so important for all of us.
Relationships come in all shapes and sizes and almost all of them are built on trust and respect. Before I started writing this, I began talking about relationships with my friends, colleagues and family. What this really emphasised for me was that relationships are incredibly personal to every single person. Whilst it may seem like relationships are the same to everyone, they are not. The underlying themes may be similar, but we all judge what a good relationship is on an individual level.
Just talking to a few people brought out a whole host of what a good relationship is to them, what matters and why that is important. Below is just a sample of what is important in a relationship:
Why not take a minute today to think about what a relationship is to you, why that is important and what you are doing to help build and maintain healthy relationships. Do we need to do more to invest in being present with our friends and families - really listening and absorbing?
We have recently launched our Mood and Stress space on Puffell – you can see a video of this in action here (https://youtu.be/N84vHeLXErM) showing how it can help you. If you just need a friend, there is always a community on www.puffell.com where you can talk.
Contact me on 0151 647 4700 or at stephen.theobald@icecreates.com to find out more.
Those of you who are in regular contact with me will know that I have recently taken an exciting opportunity to explore a new chapter in my career. The plot remains similar as I continue with the passion I have for Health & Care, whilst growing the fascination for Organisational Development - combining creative initiatives and innovation wherever possible.
I now find myself two months in and, at ICE Creates, my early experiences have been incredible! Allow me to shed some light on being the new guy.
First off is the fact I get to see this almost every day!
With my HQ situated on the banks of the River Mersey, I only have to lift my head above my monitor to take in the refreshing sights.
When you start at ICE, if the scenery doesn’t hit you first, the energy in the office definitely will. Like
a surge in a crowd at a rock gig, it will literally lift you and take you with it.
The team have been so welcoming and I have found it humbling to be accepted at pace into the family.
I use the word ‘family’ to its full, too. ICE has an impressive portfolio (Organisational/Leadership Development, Graphic Design, Digital, Marketing, Communications and Insights).
It can dip into craft valuable solutions, yet it does so within a relatively small, tight-knit group of people who take great pride in supporting each other.
Talking of support and family, what do you make of this year’s Christmas adverts? Good old JL set the ball in motion with ‘the man on the moon’, shortly followed by ‘Mog’ and all the others. What certainly seems to be a trend this time around is that most are trying to support a charity of some description. Now that’s very decent of them, but in my opinion, they have been slightly too whimsical in their approach to something that is in fact very real! Fortunately, many of my colleagues felt the same and we wanted to follow our thoughts up with actions.
With a relatively miniscule budget (certainly not £7million) and two mobile phones, we set about trying to show what people can achieve with small acts of kindness, closer to home, where we live. The outcome of this can be seen in the video below:
We loved every minute of making that short video, and hope others will feel compelled to complete similar acts of kindness? One friend told me she had taken a box of non-perishable food to her local sheltered home and they were delighted by such a simple yet thoughtful gesture.
So what of my first two months then? One thing is for sure thus far at ICE, no two days are the same. Opportunity is permanent and inspiration has no boundaries. I can’t sum up the excitement I have right now, but hopefully this blog is a clue. Perhaps I’ll touch base with you all in another two months, perhaps we could talk sooner…
Call me on 0151 647 4700 or Email simon.platt@icecreates.com