A Message from the Editor,

Sonia Last 📝

Everything is flourishing - the gardens, allotments and wild places. If only we were satisfied with so little. A shower of rain, a cool breeze and the warm afternoon sunshine does wonders for the flora and fauna around us. We may need a little more than this to flourish, but it’s a good start to build upon.

We wish you easy days and soft nights and time to gather your thoughts, your dreams and your talents and create something lovely.

Sonia

Sonia Last

Editor

An hour to connect, share, and remind yourself you're not doing this alone.

MHScot's Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace Network Event: Thursday 27 August, 12:00-1:00pm

These informal online sessions are free, so bring along a colleague and share some great tips and advice from seasoned mental health first aiders and wellbeing leads. Our conversations about workplace wellbeing are immensely valuable and you will come away feeling enthused, reassured and stronger for being in such good company. You can participate or just listen in.

Click Here To Book Your FREE Place

Inside Out: Mental Health at Work and In Life Podcast

Our now 38+ podcasts - Inside Out: Mental Health at Work and In Life gather a cast of lovely guests from a decade’s work in the sector to bring their wisdom to your ears. Listen in on Catherine’s conversations with key people who are out there doing the right stuff in their respective areas regarding people’s wellbeing.

It is a privilege to absorb their knowledge and findings as you go about your own observant and thoughtful days.

Here's a few of our recent podcasts and guests:

Supervision, Not Snoopervision: Leading with Compassion - Dr Emma Williamson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and CEO of Aneemo

Leading with Humility: Why the Best Bosses Stay Human - Steven Pink, who is the CEO of Verve Healthcare, a SELDOC Group company

The Colleague You Think Is Fine: Trauma at Work - Tracey Secker, founder of Voices Social Enterprise

Click Here To Listen To Our Podcasts

Young people are struggling to fit in at work - and blaming them isn't helping

A lonely generation of young people are coming into the workplace with poor social skills and a lack of self-awareness. Without the necessary soft skills to navigate the social elements of the workplace it can be hard for them to fit in and for their colleagues to collaborate, develop or lead them. All sorts of causes are bandied about like Brexit, Covid, government policies, organisational commitment, poor education and poor upbringing but none of these are helpful approaches.

Young people need to cultivate workplace social skills and both the adults and peers around them can help them do this. Peer support from socially adept young people and being mentored by role models can clearly demonstrate the coping strategies socially attuned people use to deal with the emotional complications of the workplace. It does take patience, effort and commitment but it can produce great results all round. It doesn’t always work but in the majority of cases it does.

A generous, multi layered induction that develops emotional intelligence through honest communication, emotional regulation, workplace culture, morale management, conflict resolution, recovering from setbacks and flexible thinking will not only develop young employees but all those around them too.

Organisations are increasingly using awareness days to start wellbeing conversations and develop healthy work and social cultures. Here are two days you might use to enhance everyone’s learnings and awareness:

• 10 September 2026 - World Suicide Prevention Day

• 10 October 2026 – World Mental Health Day

Self Care Matters – ‘Dolce far niente’

This wise Italian philosophy of life reminds us to relish the ‘sweetness of doing nothing’. It is the art of being with yourself in a moment of inner peace and truly enjoying every detail. In our over stimulated lives, we can forget how to enjoy quiet time on our own and cultivate the art of being with ourselves. Turning down the noise of the world and quieting our compulsions and distractions, gives us the space to just be.

To stop, for just a while from all the rushing and productivity and to put down the burdens of guilt, worry, ‘to-do lists’ and complications helps us appreciate and own the space where our mental birthright and autonomy of thought resides. The sweet art of doing nothing is a vital activity of the human animal we are designed to be – curious, creative and at ease with ourselves and the world around us.

Favourite Quote:

‘‘Collaboration dances an intimate dance with conflict. Innovation dances an intimate dance with failure. You don’t get either – unless you are willing to deal with the discomfort."

Psychologist, Dr. Susan David

Cygnet Diaries... Part 3, Catherine's feathered friends are really coming along now...

The cygnets will leave when they're ready. Not before. Nature doesn't rush what needs time to unfold - and neither should we. Whether you're nurturing a young colleague, a new idea, or simply yourself this summer, trust the process. Growth is rarely visible until suddenly, it is.

The small moments of growth are always worth noticing.

Warm wishes,

Sonia

Sonia and the MHScot Team

www.mentalhealthscot.land