“My name is Josh Peacock and I work as a Duty Manager in the Church Crookham retail store. I was diagnosed with ADHD, Social Anxiety and Seasonal Depression at a relatively young age, and attended CBT training to help manage the symptoms, but have always found self-management to be difficult. I struggle particularly with realising low mood, which can then impact on my ability to manage and deal with it.
After attending a POWR Wellbeing Introduction Session that was run for Southern Co-op colleague members, I was excited by the new POWR Wellbeing section available on the Member Benefits Portal. I’ve since used the planner, tools and resources regularly, and it’s had a really positive impact on my ability to monitor my mood and wellbeing in a more proactive and independent way. I kept a diary along the way, read on to find out more about my own personal POWR experience…
Friday 15 October 2021
Today is the start of my POWR wellbeing journey! I have completed the POWR planner quizzes and have my current overall POWR Score, plus a breakdown for each of the key wellbeing areas (see below):
This week’s overall POWR Index: 72.8%
Mind: 67%
Work: 82%
Life: 71%
Sleep: 73%
Active: 71%
Food: 74%
These scores were higher than anticipated which is very positive, but I also realise I am going through a high mood phase so it will be interesting to compare these scores at different times.
Wednesday 20 October 2021
I’ve been following the POWR plans provided and I’m already enjoying some positive effects. Some of the plans include actions I’m already taking, which reinforces that I am doing the right things for my wellbeing and gives me confidence that I’m on the right track. In particular, the Smoothie Plan and Music Plan have been very beneficial. I will update my quiz answers at the end of the week to see where I am at, and compare to last weeks scores. It’ll be interesting to see if there are any new plans available, based on those answers.
Work was quite stressful today (and with upcoming exams my tolerance has been lower lately) so I am going to try some of the POWR Breathing and Meditation techniques on POWR later to relax and unwind.
Thursday 21 October
I tried some of the POWR Breathing exercises yesterday which worked particularly well. It helped me to relax and unwind just before bed, which in turn helped me sleep better. I will keep this up see if it improves my overall sleep pattern and quality. I attempted some of the Meditation exercises, but they didn’t really work for me. I was expecting this though, as due to my ADHD I sometimes struggle to fully clear my mind and focus.
Saturday 23 October
Before I compare my POWR results to last week, I can already tell I am in a much better place. The stress I was feeling relating to my upcoming exams has eased after sitting down and coming up with a plan (and committing to it), along with using some of the Breathing exercises. I also know that I am feeling better within myself due to losing some weight and eating better, which has been a particular sore point for me for some time. I think the only thing that has perhaps lessened is my sleep pattern as it has become more erratic but is still relatively good compared to times gone by.
This week’s overall POWR Index: 77.7%
Mind: 75%
Work: 85%
Life: 79%
Sleep: 72%
Active: 73%
Food: 78%
I’m really glad to see improvements on my POWR scores. The extent of those improvements has both surprised and not surprised me, as I know my wellbeing has improved by the way I feel, but by so much is fantastic to see! To see my Mind and Life scores improve is great, and coincides with the increase to Active and Work. Sleep did drop slightly, but that is something I already knew and have been given a new plan to follow to help improve this. The previous plans worked well and I look forward to the new ones. My Food plan focusses on eating more veg, which is similar to my previous plan and something I know I have improved on already and will maintain. So I decided to replace that with a plan to drink more water as that is something I know could do better on.
Wednesday 27 October
I’ve been noticing my mood changing in the last couple of days (probably related to exam anxiety), so I’ve been trying to use some of the POWR Breathing exercises when I can. They have come in handy multiple times when my anxiety is quite high and I need to relax or take a breather. I’ve kept up on some of the plans, but not all as it’s been a busy week at work and home, so will look to continue these plans into the next week and wait before redoing my score
Friday 29 October
After successfully losing weight over the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed my eating habits have worsened lately (stress eating). I have tried to stick to the Food Plan and substitute for more nutritional snacks but this hasn’t always been the case. I’m not going to try and combat this before my exam as it’s not realistic, but instead will redo my Food score and see what plan the wellbeing profile suggests, then get back on track with healthy snacking once the exam pressure is off. Other than this, I’ve managed to keep up with the plans over the last couple of days, but I’ve learnt sometimes you have to accept that when things don’t go to plan you need to adapt to the situation you’re in as best you can.
Monday 1 November
I’ve been struggling more and more with my mood these last couple of days, specifically tolerance and stress. It’s got to the point where some of the Breathing exercises I was using have become slightly redundant as I’m struggling to have the patience to use them. I’m going to give some of the POWR Meditation exercises a try again and practise some of the mindfulness ones, as I don’t want this swing to affect how I am at work. I know that this should subside once I complete my exam and receive my score – but for the meantime I want to get a hold of it, as high anxiety can impact on my motivation which is vital right now.
Thursday 11 November
I haven’t written an entry for a few days while I focused on my exams, but I’ve continued using the various techniques and resources on the POWR portal to help manage my general mood. I would say that this was successful as my overall wellbeing scores neither dropped or gained, but now that I have passed my exams I am looking to take a step back and relax to rebuild and get myself to a better place mentally in the run up to what is likely to be a very busy Christmas period in both my personal life and at work.
Monday 15 November
Today I’ve redone my POWR score to see where I’m at now, but will be continuing with most of the plans I had already, as I did not fully utilise them while my focus was on my exams. With the busy year end period coming up, I am going to drop down to weekly score updates to get an overview of my general wellbeing week-to-week rather than focusing on the small changes that happen within that period. My latest scores are:
This week’s overall POWR Index: 78.9%
Mind: 78%
Work: 89%
Life: 72%
Sleep: 76%
Active: 73%
Food: 78%
It is not surprising to see the likes of Mind, Work and Sleep improve as life is generally less stressful at the moment, but Active has not changed and neither has Food which I definitely want to work on. Life has decreased, which is surprising to me as I don’t feel any worse in this area, but I will follow the new plan and see if there are any improvements in my score and to how I feel.
Wednesday 24 November
I have been keeping up with the Life plan action, which is to interact with friends and family more regularly and this is definitely working for me. With less stress I feel more able to hold conversations and actively participate in social activities which has lifted my general mood somewhat. I have also been more careful with my diet to keep on track with my Food plan, despite some occasions of sleep issues with work being quite busy.
Friday 3 December
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve checked in on my latest POWR scores, and this is partly due to being in very good mood of late and with only low level anxiety. I’ve been finding it a lot more manageable, despite continued pressure at work as we go into the Christmas period and the post office counter especially being very busy. Every now and again I use some of the Breathing or Meditation exercises on the portal to help manage mood swings or stress but generally I haven’t needed these so much. I know that upswings in mood can be followed by downswings, it’s a pattern I’m familiar with from experience so I’ll be closely monitoring this and looking to the POWR portal to manage if or when it when it occurs.
Tuesday 7 December
This week’s overall POWR Index: 83%
Mind: 76%
Work: 92%
Life: 80%
Sleep: 78%
Active: 77%
Food: 80%
My updated POWR rating. It definitely reflects how I have been feeling. My only observation is that it’s a boost to see my scores this high, and I’m convinced this was only possible through use of the POWR portal. My approach going forwards is to focus less on the scoring, and instead use the techniques that I’ve learnt to try to maintain a general high level of wellbeing rather than focusing on each individual area. I will redo the quizzes in January to set myself up for the year ahead, but for the next few weeks I will put into practice my self-management skills now I’ve got onto a solid footing through use of the portal.
Wednesday 15 December
The busy period in store has definitely kicked in now, and while I’ve noticed my mood is up and down according to work stress levels, my anxiety is actually remaining at a pretty consistent low level which is surprising, but welcome! I believe this is due to my self-management being much improved through all that I have learnt so far. I won’t say it’s been perfect as I have had my moments, but nothing extreme or concerning and generally I remain in a very good place mentally.”
A word from Josh’s Manager, Donna Cotterill
“I was fully introduced to the POWR Wellbeing section on the Membership Benefits Portal by attending an online session with Josh. I felt it was important to understand this as a manager, and especially as wellbeing and mental health are now recognised as being so important. Having the POWR portal at our disposal from my point of view is absolutely amazing and I really am an advocate of it. I have also personally used it myself and still continue to do so. Sometimes we may not always have time but you can always go back to it.
There are so many areas it can help with, and just by answering a few basic questions it’ll break down your answers into plans that you can take forward throughout the week, the month or however long you like.
I’m really passionate about this as a colleague and a Southern Co-op member, and the fact that it’s free, user friendly and anonymous is even better. I really feel it can help with everyone’s wellbeing and positively encourage a happier, healthier mind and lifestyle.”
To start your own POWR wellbeing journey, simply log into our Member Benefits Portal. If you’ve not used the Portal before, it’s easy to register – just have your Southern Co-op membership number to hand and fill in the short form online to get started!
