October wellbeing awareness month

October, the autumn season sees an array of wellbeing awareness across the month and covers a variety of topics, here we focus on 3 coming soon. 

 

National Cholesterol Month – 1st to 31st October 2021

Cholesterol is often tragically dubbed the ‘silent killer’ because for most people there are no obvious symptoms, which is why October is dedicated to raising awareness.

HEART UK is the UK’s only cholesterol charity, providing support, information and influencing services for families and health professionals.

The aim is to raise awareness about cholesterol and try to get people to change their habits, even the smallest change can make a difference.

So what is cholesterol and why should we care?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in our blood which our bodies use for several reasons including producing hormones and building healthy cell walls in our brain, nerves and muscles. Approximately 80% of cholesterol is produced in our bodies and the other 20% is from the foods we eat. Physical activity, or inactivity, also influences our cholesterol levels.

 

Good cholesterol and bad cholesterol

We all have both good and bad cholesterol. Your good cholesterol, also known as ‘HDL’, transports cholesterol to your liver. While your bad cholesterol, also known as ‘LDL’, transports cholesterol to your arteries. But it’s the ratio of the good and bad cholesterol that is important and could potentially be detrimental to your health.

Adopting healthy habits, such as eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active, can not only aid in lowering your cholesterol levels but can also help prevent your cholesterol levels becoming high in the first place.

For more information click here or here.

 

Back Care Awareness Week – 4th to 8th October 2021

The aim of the week-long event, organised by BackCare, is to raise awareness of the problems back pain can cause, as well as prevention and treatments.

Moving back to the office for some give us the chance to reacquaint ourselves with our work set up. Our backs may have taken the ‘back’ seat whilst we were working from home but it’s now time to revaluate and look after our back health.

We spend a large part of our time in sedentary positions which can only aggravate the strain on our backs. The golden rule is 40 minutes sitting, 10 minutes standing and 10 minutes walking, stretching anything to move from your seats; but how many of us actually follow this rule?

Why not challenge yourself to make a change to your normal routine during back awareness week?

For more information on activities during the week go to this page. 

It could be that your work station needs updating and if so contact the wellbeing team on wellbeing@methodistchurch.org.uk to discuss further.

 

Dyslexia Awareness Week – 4th to 10th October 2021

Dyslexia awareness week is an annual event to raise awareness about dyslexia. The British Dyslexia Association runs different themes each year and this year’s focus is on ‘Invisible Dyslexia, to explore the entire theme of visibility within our community. We’ll highlight the importance of mental health, increase visibility of underrepresented groups, and raise serious issues of dyslexia being overlooked within education and the workplace ‘(BDA – 2021)

Dyslexia affects 1 in 10 people and is sometimes misunderstood about what it is and how it affects some people.  Dyslexia is a learning difference and can be about the way in which people process information, which includes reading and writing. What is important about dyslexia is that not everyone who has dyslexia have the same challenges and are affected in the same way.  Having dyslexia should not be seen as a negative but a positive trait that can bring about a wealth of creativity.

For further information on what to expect in the week go to Dyslexia Week 2021 - British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk). There are a range of activities throughout the week which includes an adult checklist to go through for yourself that asks those questions that you may have been wondering about. Click here to access the page.

If you are feel you wish to explore this further you can email the wellbeing team on wellbeing@methodistchurch.org.uk. We do have a consultant who is available to undertake assessments so that if you need support the right support can be identified.