Blog by Natalie Mack, Microbiology, Brewing and Biotechnology. 

On Tuesday 25th June 2024, I presented at The University of Nottingham’s online “Empowering Us All” Conference, which was open to both internal and external delegates. I was one of nine speakers on the programme and my session aimed to communicate a useful tool to help individuals enhance their wellbeing and resilience.

The tool I presented is one I have adapted from a fabulous book by Susan Jeffers “Feel the fear and do it anyway” that is available from our University library. The essence of the concept is to use a grid to reflect on the different areas of your whole life.

Suggested reflection grid

I have 9 boxes with the following headings:

• Family and Pets
• Work
• Hobbies/Me time
• Friends
• Travel
• Health and Exercise
• Relationship
• Home maintenance
• Finances.

The headings should reflect what is important to you and therefore will vary between individuals and you may even wish to add a few more boxes to your grid. I suggest that for each box you reflect on how it currently looks for you and estimate a rough percentage effort level you are putting into that area of life. Next, estimate the percentage of your satisfaction/success for that area.

You can then reflect on those percentages and identify if you are putting more effort into certain areas of your life, possibly at the expense of others, and also work out which areas you are less happy with. From this standpoint, you can begin to think about ways you may start to improve some life areas, developing an action plan of achievable things you could do to enhance each area.

Building a satisfying and well-balanced life

This exercise is designed to help you foster a proactive and positive approach to building a satisfying and well-balanced life. Committing to and “filling up” all areas of your life will enhance your overall wellbeing and resilience. If one area of your life falls down, you would still have a rich and fulfilling life based on all of the other areas and those will help you to navigate challenging times.

Approaching life in this way can enable you to better manage stress and challenges both within and outside of the workplace.

Only one possible grid – yours may differ.

Further self-help including UoN wellbeing and free counselling links

Please consider visiting the University wellbeing site which includes:

1. Togetherall an external support app (UoN staff have free access) 
2. Care First – qualified confidential professionals for conversations about personal or work issues (e.g. domestic / family, consumer rights, bereavement, bullying, financial, debt support). Up to 6 free face-to-face counselling sessions per year are available.
3. MyPossibleSelf app – Clinically certified content using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

– For UoN login/organisation codes or further details, please see the Employee Hub, or contact your EDI representative.  

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Accessible spaces 

There are over 20 accessible parking spots on our campus, well distributed all the way from the North to South Accommodation Blocks, and west to east from the Sport Centre to the Farm Office.

A recent walkabout allowed a mapping of all these spots by standing in the ‘eye’ of the large yellow icon and saving the What3words location (GPS accurate to 15ft).

One accessible parking space between the glasshouses and BABS turned out to be Park.Phones.Theory – does that count as nominative determinism?

Appropriately, one of our northern accessible parking spots is https://park.phones.theory

A W3w list of all these spaces should be accessible here

Carer’s Parking Spaces

North Lab Carer’s parking.

Glasshouse Car Park Carer’s spaces.

Some of you will have noticed the spaces that allow parking only after 9:15. There used to be some between the Lecture Block and Plant Sciences, but these were relocated. We now have four spaces north of BABS (west of the glasshouses), and a couple more by the Library.

These are intended for people who have morning caring responsibilities that delay their arrival – please be considerate.

We now have lots more parking spaces at the north of our campus, the ones between the Boiler House and the glasshouses are particularly nice (and allow for a sneaky exit – which you might not have seen before).

In the unlikely event that these are all full – you can always visit the north-east of our campus and park by the farm exit.

One last comment, if (like me) you are looking to lose weight, or calm your brain at either end of the day (and don’t have mobility issues) – parking as far away as you can from where you are going is good exercise and you get to walk past some attractive and interesting parts of our beautiful campus – I believe the Japanese call it shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing).

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Hopefully you are enjoying the Platinum Jubilee on this long luxurious (and possibly restful) weekend.

With all the flags and bunting around, you may not have noticed the Union Flag flying on Sutton Bonington Campus to celebrate 70 years of the Queen’s reign.

On the main flagpole at the front of campus we are also flying the Pride Flag – because this month simultaneously recognises 50 years of Pride in the UK (a golden anniversary).

Would you like to know the meaning of Pride? Why is there an association of rainbows with LGBTQIA+ identities? What do the individual letters in that alphabet soup stand for (and why do a few folk like to use the alternative acronym QUILTBAG)? Read on…

Future Learn (to which the UoN is an online learning partner) have released an introductory blog for Pride 2022 providing a guide to terminology and including a useful history to UK Black Pride.

There is also a detailed ‘Fun With Flags’ detailing the LGBTQIA+ spectrum of standards (including the progress flag being flown at UP this pride – which we at SB should probably buy and fly going forwards).

If you want to jump to more at Future Learn:

• What is Pride?
• When did Pride start?
• What do the Pride flag colours mean?
• What has Pride achieved since the movement began?
• Why is Pride still so important today?
• When is Pride 2022?

Enjoy the celebrations and don’t eat too much (unless you want to).

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As part of our recent Sutton Bonington LGBTQIA+ History Month 2022 steered by Brad Hill (SVMS), we had two excellent talks from members of the Schools at SB. This blog is a modified version of some guidance and advice allied to those talks:

Common Concerns

Many students on SB who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community feel apprehensive about beginning university-related or independent work experience, especially if it’s in a rural setting, or if we come across as ‘visibly’ queer.

Concerns commonly include:

• Hosts or colleagues identifying us as queer due to our self expression, or else through our conversations, and treating us differently as a result.
• Being misgendered or feeling dysphoric in our presentations.
• Feeling pressured to keep our identities hidden or reduce their significance to us in order to “make life easier”.
• Hearing homophobic, transphobic or otherwise bigoted language, even if the target isn’t us personally.

There are many levels to our concerns, and they are each valid, though some more nuanced and harder to navigate than others.

The bottom line is, none of us should feel unsafe or invalidated by our experience in educational work placements.

LGBTQIA+ in Farming

Farming is typically a profession lacking in diversity, which extends to inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community. Only 0.6% of LGBT people work in agriculture, quarrying and mining combined. This can make essential farm experiences (i.e. lambing, milking, harvests, hay making) a daunting prospect, especially with unfamiliar hosts.

Even in more progressive farms, equality and diversity is a real issue. Mariana works in regenerative agriculture, the on-farm team has them and 2 other men, the office has 3 women, and the wider team also has many women, though mostly white. Before Mariana began working there, conversation around diversity seems to have been limited.

Agrespect aims to give a platform to LGBTQ+ people in rural communities, and is worth checking out on social media and to see stories of people living openly and happily whilst working within farming.

LGBTQIA+ in veterinary practice

Whilst the veterinary practice is also a profession lacking in ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, 10.6% of respondents in a 2019 survey of the veterinary profession identified with labels other than heterosexual/straight; this is higher than the national average.

However, it can still be daunting to go to a new placement, whether AHEMS or CEMS, especially if you have never been to the host before, as it is tricky to predict workplace culture.

BVLGBT+ is an organisation that supports, educates and informs the veterinary profession about LGBTQ+ issues, and that you can join for free as a student. They run regular events and financially support students to attend, so are worth checking out.

Introducing pronouns

If you’re trans and feel comfortable, introducing your pronouns can be helpful to clarify expectations with your host.

Some things to bear in mind:

• Introducing pronouns can entail some education from you i.e. what it means to be trans/non-binary/intersex. While it’s not your responsibility to educate (at all), it might be necessary to help your host understand.
• Manage expectations; pronouns aren’t always respected and it can be exhausting for you to continuously correct people.
• Some LGBTQIA+ people feel that it is easier to not start that conversation and just ‘grin and bear it’; such “cost/benefit” weighing up is unfortunately a familiar experience for many queer people.
• If you get the impression people are going to discriminate or not respect what you have told them, you may wish not to share that information for your own safety and so you can focus on learning from the placement.

Some ways to introduce your pronouns include:

• Consider including your pronouns in your CV and covering letters when applying to placements, if you have to send such documents.
• Add your pronouns to your email signature, so that in communication with placement hosts ahead of time, they’ll probably see them and have time to process the information.
• On the first day of placement, if you feel comfortable, mention your pronouns to your colleagues in your introduction.
• If you prefer a more casual approach, you could wait until someone talks about you in third person, and then hop in and correct them (if they misgender you)- you can simply say “Oh, by the way, I use [insert pronouns]- thanks!”

Managing micro-aggressions

Microaggressions are frustrating to navigate; many people don’t realise the implications of their language or behaviour, and confronting these actions can cause you to be wrongly labelled as hyper-sensitive (which is, in itself, a microaggression).

Examples of commonly experienced microaggressions include:

• Hearing derogatory ‘in-jokes’ between other colleagues, that may be based on stereotypes or slurs.
• Being told that you “don’t look gay”, or similar comments.
• Being assigned jobs based on gender/appearance as opposed to ability e.g. feminine-presenting people told to feed pet lambs, masculine-people to catch ewes.
• Being asked intrusive questions about your sexuality or gender identity.

Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is still quite common, especially on some farms. Sometimes countering discriminatory remarks with inclusive language (i.e. queer people, POC, AFAB) makes people realise the exclusionary nature of their comments. Or, showing an interest in learning a skill from a host will convince them to teach you what they may consider a “gendered” task.

Managing expectations

Factors such as location of the placement (is it somewhere rural or urban?) and length of time spent there (is it a month or just 3 days?) can affect the ‘cost/benefit’ of sharing certain information to hosts and peers. Consider the following:

 Q: Are you in a location where there’s plenty of LGBTQIA+ representation?

In areas with more representation, you are less likely to be the first queer person your colleagues have met, and more likely to be surrounded by people who already understand different gender identities and sexualities.

Q: Do you feel sharing this information will positively impact your experience? E.g. Will people take on your name/pronouns?

It may be useful before your placement starts to think about a contingency plan in case your colleagues do not react as they should; ensuring you have a support network around you outside of placement is key (more on that below).

It can be really painful to accept that you may be misgendered, or to hide your  gender or sexuality, for the length of your placement, but you are no less valid in your  gender, gender expression or sexuality if this occurs.

Q: If you chose not to share your sexuality or gender identity, will this negatively impact your mental health and therefore, your learning experience?

Some people find that others assuming they are cis-het actually makes them more uncomfortable than being open about their identity. This doesn’t apply to everyone but it’s important to consider how this can impact your mental health- it’s natural to feel some anxiety around your personal identity being presumed.

There’s no correct answer to any of the above- as in all situations, how public you are about your gender and sexuality is a highly personal situation and no two LGBTQIA+ people have the same experience, so take into account your own personal circumstances. It can be useful to consider the following question:

Does the positive impact of sharing your LGBT+ identity outweigh the potential costs of explaining it on this particular placement?

Getting support

It’s completely understandable to need more support on any placement, especially if you’re struggling with feelings of invalidity for your identity.

Often, we have readymade support networks in place, in the form of friends or family, and it’s always useful to reach out and talk about what you’re feeling, whether it’s good or bad- or to distract yourself from placement by talking about something completely different!

If you feel you need to alert the university to problems on your placement, both the Veterinary and Bioscience Schools have routes to access help. Importantly, you always have the right to walk away- you don’t have to stay on a placement where you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

If you ever do feel discriminated against on your placement, it’s important to let your tutor/placement organiser know – not just for you, but so that future students don’t visit the same place and feel unsafe. 

Confidential support can be found at ReportAndSupport, and there is lots of relevant guidance at University Well-being Support. Support and Wellbeing officers can also direct you to the right service, and can be contacted at ss-sup-medhealthsci@nottingham.ac.uk.

Vet School: Email the placements office at veterinary-placement@nottingham.ac.uk and your personal/senior tutor; if you feel you are experiencing harassment, there is a guidance document on Moodle in the Placements section about how to proceed, and a Report Form.

Biosciences: Email Dr. Judith Wayte, Rachel Jessop or Hannah Corbett from the placement team with any problems as well as your personal tutor.

Personal Experiences

We thought we’d compare our personal experiences to show that although two people can have quite similar lived experiences, they can still have completely different approaches to sharing their identities!

Mariana McCormick, Animal Science, they/them

The first time I formally addressed my pronouns at work experience was when I started my year in industry placement in 2021. I took this step for two reasons; firstly, I had recently become a lot more self-assured in my trans identity. This new confidence empowered me to take action on how people addressed me in my work space. Secondly, the idea of ‘with-holding’ or ‘toning down’ my LGBT+ self for an entire 10 months made me extremely uncomfortable – I personally find great validation in being open about myself.

Not everyone has the same experience in disclosing their identity and if you chose not to, you are no less valid. By this point I already knew my work mates fairly well and could assess how they would react to me.

Phoebe Little, Veterinary Medicine, they/them

Moving forward, I am still unsure as to how I will approach short-term placements. But I feel confident knowing that the decision to share my experience of sexuality and gender is mine alone.

I never felt that my sexuality caused any issues on AHEMS placements. I have not been on a CEMS placement since coming out as non-binary, but currently I plan on keeping my pronouns private.

This is because the idea of addressing my gender identity on placement causes me more stress than the idea of being misgendered- but this obviously could change! I do struggle with feeling like a “worse” trans person because of this; although obviously this is not true, I thought it’s worth sharing that I feel like this as I know I’m not the only one in this situation, and I hope it’ll help people to know that they’re not the only ones feeling like that.

Ultimately, I think finding what works for you personally is important, and understanding that nothing is set in stone- you can change your mind!

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There is no such thing as a ‘normal’ human brain, but there are general demographic commonalities which we call ‘neurotypical’. Around 10% of the human population vary from this diffuse majority and are defined as neurodivergent.

Neurodivergency can include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia – amongst others. Many neuro-minority individuals live undiagnosed.

Ardi’s video

This wide range simply reflects an infinite variation in human neurocognitive functioning. Increased awareness and familiarity with these neurological definitions helps us replace negative stereotypes with more balanced views of their (your/our) gifts and needs.

Ardeshir Farmanfarmian is a PhD student in Food Science and has kindly produced a short video explaining his own experiences of neurodiversity with a view to promoting ASD awareness and understanding.

For an alternative introduction to neurodiversity (from the School of Psychology) with some additional insightful interviews with neurodiverse individuals at UoN please see the recent webinar below.

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February is LGBT+ History Month and you may have noticed the rainbow flag flying at both ‘Main’ buildings on our SB and UP campuses. 

We have had some comments that they are flying differently (violet on top at SB and red on top at UP – see below). Flying differently‘ is very much a feature of LGBT+ HM, and as you might hope – there is no ‘right way up’ for the rainbow flag – So all is good.

For the remaining list of HM events, please look here – particularly for details and guidance on the Sutton Bonington LGBT Craftivism Event for Everyone. 

Further on that (rainbow) note –  if you are part of a UoN SB sports club (student or staff) and would like some (free) official Stonewall rainbow laces as a club or an individual, please get in touch for when teams / clubs can actually meet again.

We chose a stock of the standard rainbow laces, but Stonewall also do separate trans, bi, non-binary, lesbian, ace and pan colours (and if you are not sure what all those terms mean – learn here).

Lastly, for History Month we can end with a little history – supplied here from Historic England’s site with a list of 10 buildings with special LGBT historic connections. One of which hosted the foil fencing match featured in the above oil painting by Charles Jean Robineau between Chevalier de Saint-Georges and La chevalière D’Eon  – April 9, 1787. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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In the third of our Discussing What Matters 2020 video series, Ranjan Swarup (Biosciences BAME Tutor) introduces himself and the role.



Staff readers might also like to consider joining the UoN BAME staff network:

The aims of the network are to:

• Provide a forum for BAME staff to network and discuss issues of specific interest or concern.
• Provide professional support and information about individual issues and how they may be raised.
• Act as a voice for BAME staff, a source of consultation, and a means of communicating with the University about BAME issues in relation to University policies and practices.
• Assist with policy development on BAME issues by providing advice and feedback to Human Resources and other relevant University committees.

The post Biosciences BAME Tutor and BAME Staff Network appeared first on Equality and Diversity in Biosciences.

In the second in our Discussing What Matters 2020 video series, Jake Sallaway-Costello (recently appointed Biosciences LGBT+ Tutor) introduces himself and the role.

To see the previous DWM2020 talk from 14th Feb:
Max Biddulph – Inclusive HE spaces

To volunteer a vlog or blog please contact Biosciences EDI

If you STILL don’t know what EDI means, do this course.
*clue* Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity – the course is mandatory, assessed and counts against your staff training record.

….and look out for the SB Pride flag, flying throughout July at the front of campus.

The post Discussing what matters – Biosciences LGBT+ Tutor appeared first on Equality and Diversity in Biosciences.

Be Your Self (BYS)

Be Your Self Poster – closeup

One community

The previously ‘unusual’ turns out to be just a normal part of our local diversity – so we work better together.

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Living with long-term anxiety

This personal autobiography explores how local mental health support groups and counselling can help

– once you take the initial step to engage with them.

I have always been a worrier

– or a “worry wart” as my mum used to say when I was younger. I would fixate on small things and get worked up about them. There wouldn’t always be a pattern, sometimes it would be fine, other times misplacing an inanimate object or a past accident would become the end of the world. It took many years to realise that this wasn’t exactly “normal” and that you can live differently.

I’ve always been bad with exams, the sick feeling in my stomach, the persistent worrying, the ‘end of the world’, my whole future life depending on decisions and the outcome of certain events. At university, no matter how much work I did it was never enough. My second year was particularly bad, a combination of a bad relationship, work stress and daily headaches. Crying for 5 hours a day was not unheard of. I had a friend who said to me that I should just “get over it”, they couldn’t be friends with me anymore or support me. Mental health takes a toll on everyone, especially the person that has it but also those around. It must be frustrating to see someone like that every day, but it’s not a choice. People with mental health do not choose to be like this.  

I came to Nottingham for my PhD and things were much better.

A PhD does require a lot of self-discipline, but it is much more relaxed. Supervisors do make a big difference and mine was particularly good, or at least well suited to me. I still had my bad days however, due to personal circumstances. I remember one day in my first year I dropped a piece of expensive equipment. I was so worried about having damaged it that I couldn’t stop crying. I told my supervisor and they were fine, “things happen and it’s better to report it”, but I still couldn’t get over that feeling. Even now I am extra careful around that equipment and any expensive equipment. I think it restricts what I decide to do with my research, my mental health shapes my life.

After my PhD, I moved University. I was apprehensive about the move and it wasn’t a place I had any desire to live in. The year and a half I spent there was hard. My job was stressful with a boss who was a task master, in a topic I was much less comfortable with. I spent more time working in a laboratory, a place that has always given me imposter syndrome. I got frequent headaches that would last for weeks. I developed eating problems that led to severe stomach pains and restrictions on what I could eat. The unhealthy relationship continued to be unhealthy. I became more attached to small objects which comforted me and replaced meaningful personal interactions. I wasn’t sad to leave.

Why didn’t I talk to anyone?

Mental health is very much a solo expedition. Unless you are fortunate enough to meet someone, who has a very similar form to yourself, it is almost impossible to explain the thought processes behind your actions and what it truly is to be you. If you have mental health, you become a master of disguise. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning, let alone put on a brave face and interact with the world. Self-control just to keep it all inside not to freak-out everyone around. Sometimes it’s easier to keep it inside and hidden, even from yourself, than risk letting it out.

I returned to Nottingham. I got what I wanted, somewhere I was more comfortable. I had a house, something I had been working towards for a long time. But things weren’t better, and I wasn’t better.

I joined an informal mental health support group in the School of Biosciences.

Other than a one-time failed trip for some counselling, it was the first time I had actively sought some help or support. Part of this was because when you have never known any differently, it is hard to think that there could be something else. I attended a few sessions and as well as giving a non-judgemental place to relieve some problems, it was also comforting to know that there are others around that are fighting their own personal battles. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose and there is always a possibility for more in life.

After that, everything changed. The unhealthy relationship disintegrated. The friends and family I assumed would be there to support me were not the support I needed, and I became alien to them. I was left with a house and bills I could barely afford. Work became unimportant. But there was one silver lining, I had finally met the one person in life that could understand me and my mental health, and sometimes understood me better than I did myself. They showed me another way to be, fighting against all the bad thoughts to live in the good. With their support I went to the doctors and now take anti-anxiety / anti-depressants for my problems. This was the correct choice for me, and I have noticed vast improvements. Nobody knows that I take them other than my partner and two friends, but they help and that’s all that matters.

I still get irrational thoughts.

I can’t stop them, but it’s easier to recognise and I can get over them quicker. I have bad days, not as many and not as bad as before, but things are manageable now and I have a reason to get up in the morning. I got a dog and he does more for me than any counselling session ever could.

Just remember that you are not alone.

A study in 2018 indicated that up to 45% of academics suffer symptoms of mental health, and 33% of students had thoughts towards self-harm. Almost every other person you come in contact with may be fighting their own personal battle with Mental health.

You do not need to suffer.

The University runs mental health support groups, counselling services, and there are mental health first aiders for a friendly chat.

If anything within this post resonates with you personally.

– and you would like a non-judgemental ear to listen to you, then I can be contacted through sarah.johnson@nottingham.ac.uk or sean.may@nottingham.ac.uk

There is a wide range of support available both within the university and from external sources, for  yourself, or to help someone else:

Internal:

• https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hr/guidesandsupport/healthandwellbeing/index.aspx

External:

• Samaritans –https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us
• MIND – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/
• Rethink Mental Illness – https://www.rethink.org/about-us/contact-us
• CALM – https://www.thecalmzone.net/

If YOU want to write an anonymous blog – please do.

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