Wellbeing with Louise Murphy

On Thursday 4 June we were delighted to have the company of Louise Murphy, Bushfire Relief Recovery Coordinator at Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District and NSW Peer Support Coordinator at St John Ambulance. Louise is a registered Nurse and healthcare educator who brings a wealth of experience, academic research and compassion to her work. Louise joined the LIP on Zoom to give her presentation on Wellbeing and to answer some of our questions on the subject.

Louise’s presentation addressed:
Stress and managing your stress

• identifying your own stress and that of others
• the difference between Eustress (can be useful as a motivator and performance enhancer) and Distress (causing anxiety, poor performance and harm)
• understanding the things that contribute to your stress that you can and cannot control
• attaching meaning to a stressful situation
• Thoughts>Feelings>Behaviour>Actions: how you think about things will ultimately affect your actions
• the importance of routine in establishing a healthy sleep pattern through using breathing techniques to calm the mind and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and good bedtime habits such as reading
• worry time: scheduling in time to worry        

Window of tolerance

• this is the optimal state where we are thriving mentally and physically, performing well and coping
• the outer extreme states are hyperarousal (overactive, emotionally distressed, countered by mindfulness and breathing) and hypoarousal (depressed, unmotivated, countered by physical movement)
• learning helpful coping strategies like challenging your thought processes, getting comfortable with uncomfortable thoughts

Ways of keeping your bucket full

• is your bucket full of things that bring you joy (purpose & meaning), or is it full of things to do for other people?
• make time to calm your mind every day (meditation, exercise, music, journaling, practicing gratitude)
• have things in your life that ‘light you up’ (non-judgmental ‘3am’ friends, family, exercise, being in nature)
• have a day of no responsibility, a do-nothing day

“Good relationships with others is likely the single most important factor contributing to individual wellbeing and life satisfaction”

Thankyou to Louise and to ISLHD for sharing your time with us, this presentation addressed many issues that are of immediate concern to the cohort, in workplaces and life in general. Keep those buckets full of things that light you up!

​Vote of thanks by Lee Vale.

Posted by Beth

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