Last week, SWD were lucky enough to nab an interview with Chris Bosher, a passionate dyslexia advocate and Business Development Manager at Thriiver. Thriiver is a training and coaching provider that specialises in neurodiversity and and disability, and whose services allow businesses to foster greater inclusivity and engagement through diversity-driven learning.
Chris has dyslexia himself, and is an active community advocate for mental health support for people in the workplace with dyslexia and other neurodiversities. As part of our Dyslexia & Me campaign, we were excited to chat about his work and experiences in the professional sphere with dyslexia and how it can interact with individual's mental health. And today we're focusing on an aspect of living with dyslexia that we sometimes don't speak about enough: the adult emotional connections, especially when it comes to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Chris has shared with us some of his personal experience in the matter, as well as a series of coping strategies that have helped him along the way - and if you're excited to hear me (we are), keep your eyes peeled on our LinkedIn and on our SWD YouTube Channel for an extended interview with Chris all about his professional and personal experiences when it comes to mental health and dyslexia.
"Anxiety and depression will always be a part of me. The recovery journey is full of twists and turns, highs and lows. The best advice I can give is never to give up, during your recovery and your rebuilding. You will notice that each time you fall, you stop falling so far and your recovery time starts to get shorter. This is all part of the journey, and it improves as you start to understand and practice new coping mechanisms.
Part of my anxiety is overthinking, conversations and things I have said, done or should have said and done. It can ring around my head for a long time after the event, and I start to worry-
Did that come out right?
Should I have said that differently?
Why did I do that, have I upset them?
...or have I just made myself look silly?
These thoughts can keep me up at night. The next day I wake up feeling good, then a split second later, the worry starts all over again. This is natural, and I am on a journey of trying to find ways to challenge this - and this is where my coping strategies come in.
💡 Set yourself a purpose. What do you want to achieve? Anxiety and depression can both can have a paralytic effect, and make it difficult to make decisions or get started, so defining a clear goal can make it easier to choose a path.
💡Set yourself small goals to get there. This will give you little wins along the way and more motivation to keep going, and it also ensures that the bigger picture remains achievable. Focus on making it to the next small goal, rather than the end point - it makes the journey easier.
💡The journey has to start from today. It's far too easy to keep saying 'I'll start tomorrow' - you'll always find a reason not to start if you do.
💡 Remain open-minded. This means trying things that you might not have tried before, or things that you might initially think aren't for you. Give different ways of thinking about things a chance and they might just surprise you, especially when it comes to mental health recovery.
💡 Being in nature- or even just walking around the block to the shops- can help a lot. It's surprising how much confidence that something as simple as saying hello to somebody can give you, so look out for these little boosts as you go about your day-to-day.
💡Practice breathing techniques - you can find guides online, or use apps or audiobooks.
💡Meditation can help too. There are many types, so keep trying until you find the one that feels like it's working for you.
💡 Practice mindfulness.
💡Try to reduce alcohol and caffeine intake, and be aware of the amount of unhealthier food you're consuming. Replacing junk snacks with yoghurts, fruits and veg, or nuts and seeds can have a huge impact on how you feel emotionally, and make sure to stay hydrated and drink enough water.
💡 Learn your triggers if you can, and make a note of them when they happen. This also goes for coping mechanisms - keep track of what's happening and how you try to combat it so that you can start developing a working understanding of what works.
💡 Never feel ashamed of what you feel, and don't worry about what other people might think.
💡 Never give up, either. Always believe in yourself and your skills, and remember that everyone is different- what works for one might not work for another, and vice versa.
There's no set time frame for recovery - just keep going, and you'll get there."