00:00Now I know it's not a very orthodox thing to do in journalism is to talk about your workplace
00:06itself but as it's World Mental Health Day I really did want to talk about the workplace
00:11because that is the theme this year and I think sometimes we get a bit kind of
00:16distanced from all these different awareness days because believe you me there's a day for
00:21everything. I'm called Sophie, there's even a National Sophie Day now and they'll do out to
00:26sell stuff or do engagement posts or whatnot but World Mental Health Day is vital and crucially
00:34important especially to me. It wasn't too long ago that I was really really poorly with my mental
00:42health. I had postpartum psychosis and I also had a long-lasting psychotic disorder and severe
00:51anxiety and depression. I still take medication for a lot of those different conditions and I
00:57still manage myself through fitness but I've actually found I'm very grateful because I've
01:05worked freelance, I've worked four places and I've kind of tiptoed around and I've now found like my
01:13home in Yorkshire Post and I think the key thing for me because it's having one I get support from
01:21a support tutor who can help me like manage my time and manage my things but also giving me the
01:30confidence that it can be a positive thing that people are so different and diverse in the
01:35workforce like you can hear my washing machine because I'm actually working from home which suits
01:39me just fine because it means that I have my mental health appointments when I need them and
01:45worker aware when I go to mental health groups and I also have a community day on a Friday and so
01:52whilst I'm helping other people so to speak honestly those people at Co-Active Arts and
01:57Workfield are really helping me as well and it also to be honest having all these different activities
02:03and groups and things outside of work really not only helps my own mental health and well-being but
02:10I know it makes me a better journalist as well it gives me an empathy it gives me ideas for stories
02:17I think everyone no matter what your profession to be out in the community doing stuff can really
02:23give you a new lease on life it also makes you appreciate what you do have and rather than
02:29thinking oh this is so hard I've got all these deadlines and we do have a lot of hard days and I
02:34think in journalism because we're normally sharing the news not as much like this where we're sharing
02:41our story and people just think you're kind of totally distant to the world you don't care
02:48but most journalists I know are in it because they do care and they want to give
02:54they want to give a power to those who feel unheard they want to show and that they care
03:00and especially for somewhere local like I've worked nationally but I actually love the fact
03:06that I'm based in Yorkshire and I report mostly on Yorkshire stories and because for me that's
03:12really important that we know inside out our area and I was in a really bad place actually
03:19but when I first joined the Yorkshire Post mentally I was really really struggling
03:26but the more that I've been part of the team and I'm not just saying this they haven't even asked
03:31me to do this the more it's helped give me a structure in my life it's flexible around
03:39my own mental health and I don't think I've had any sick days to be honest when it comes to my
03:46mental health since joining because I feel valued and because I have that break to do
03:53my appointments I don't feel as guilty or under pressure all the time and I'm just honest I don't
04:00use it as an excuse at all if anything I use it to drive me and I get I build my own structure
04:07so I know that I work better on the morning so again I start the day at like 5am or 6am
04:13and I should finish it too but they're actually telling me to stop working which is very rare in
04:20the news industry because I could just work all the time because I really love it and I think
04:26once you're born as a journalist that is it your whole life is stories but they do actually help me
04:33manage that and I've also got different neurodiversity and gosh that gave me a shock
04:39I think I've got the house rocking then it's not an earthquake don't worry it's my washing
04:44machine going crazy but because I'm structuring my life around my different dyspraxia dyslexia
04:53ADHD or whatever I can stand to work that's the other thing but it actually makes me thrive and
05:01it's given me more of a confidence now to see any of my conditions on paper as an actual benefit
05:08because I get to understand how other people are and why people tick a certain way and everyone's
05:15unique as well and so when it comes to mental health at workplace it really can work I know
05:22we always hear the bad stories but it really can work and I'd love more like places in the media
05:30and everywhere organizations to do the right training so people understand I've done a lot
05:35of mental health first aid courses and Yorkshire Evening Post organized one and I've done it off
05:41my own back as well but not just the training but also just the empathy to have open conversations
05:50and also the flexibility of working and the feedback the positivity and seeing every
05:57individual is unique I think is vital because honestly the more that employers give you that
06:04breath to breathe to do your thing the more you do and the more that you want to do rather than
06:11it being like no we've got to micromanage because at the end of the day the beauty is we aren't
06:17robots do you know there's only so much AI is going to be able to do in terms of processing
06:23things and making things faster but we aren't robots and that's the beauty of the human mind
06:28and the human insight into journalism into news into everything but that also needs to be harnessed
06:34so don't forget we have all got mental health and and hopefully at some point most of us will
06:40be working and that's why it's so essential to talk about mental health in the workplace right
06:46on that note she's tired it's time for a nap and I'm about to clock off peace
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