David Lammy is a 42-year-old MP who regards himself as generally healthy. He recently had an assessment at the occupational health department of the Health and Wellbeing Centre in Brighton. He was found to have low-risk factors for cardiovascular disease and a normal BMI.
David identified clearly with the concept of wellbeing as he chairs the all-party parliamentary group on wellbeing economics. We assessed David's wellbeing using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), which is available at NHS choices.
At the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre we use six areas to assess wellbeing. They are lifestyle, participation, relaxation, security, support and environment.
Lifestyle
David's main difficulties here are due to the nature of his work. His schedule is very demanding and he has very little time to address all the demands his job places on him.
He often does not eat properly during the day and has difficulty making time for exercise and his family. He copes with a lot of stressful situations and carries a lot of responsibility. He has noticed how much better he feels after exercise and eating in a more structured manner. This was a key area for David to work on.
Participation
David participates locally and nationally at a high level. He scored highly in this area. Participation is a key part of wellbeing as it leads to feelings of confidence and value.
Relaxation
David struggles with relaxation and finds it difficult to manage his day without being very adrenalised, which makes it hard to switch off, enjoy the moment and be in the present. His sleep is often poor and he wakes frequently between 4am and 5am, and starts working. Relaxation does not necessarily involve being calm and quiet. It can be doing something stimulating and enjoyable such as sport or learning a new skill. This was another key area for David to work on.
Security
David feels personally and financially secure. This is a very important factor in wellbeing and he recognises what a huge effect it often has on his constituents, particularly with the current problems with the benefit system.
Support
David feels well-supported by his family and team, and has made use of the support available through his work.
Environment
David works in a good well-kept environment, which is ordered and clean. He describes his home as comfortable and he recognises the importance of contributing to the health of his wider environment.
Summary
David scored 50/70 in his wellbeing score, which is a good average. He generally aims to keep healthy but struggles with work pressures.
Recommendations
David negotiated a plan of action to enhance his wellbeing, which he feels he can achieve over the next week. David will:
1. Try to drink two litres of water a day.
2. Ask his team to schedule 15-minute blocks in his diary to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
3. Try to sit down when he is eating and keep his feet on the ground to centre himself.
4. Attempt to complete 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation a day using the getsomeheadspace.com website.
5. Carry out three 5km runs this week.
6. Try to sit less and take every opportunity to walk.
7. Try to do something new.
David's reflections
I don't think I'll be able to do all of the recommendations in a week, but I'm going to try. I'm quite excited by the mindfulness because I'm really up for finding, even if it's briefly during the course of the day, some time to just be centred, and for myself. That is going to be quite interesting for me.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the water test. I don't do it every day, but I am determined to do it this week. The mealtimes will be tough because of my diary. I think that I will fail on that, but I will try. I've already done one 5km run, and I have had weeks when I have fit in three runs, so I think I'll achieve that this week. I think I'll achieve the recommendations for spending less time at my desk and eating a good breakfast.
I'm slightly sceptical of spending less time sitting at my desk because I'm out and about anyway in the job. I'm not as deskbound as you might think, so I think I already do that anyway. Feet on the ground to centre myself, I suppose, is connected to the mindfulness so I realise that's more serious than it sounds. All the dietary stuff is real common sense, good stuff.
On the wellbeing test, I don't think I scored too badly because there are quite large aspects of my life that I'm in control of, in a way that many are not. I feel secure, I'm not in any threat. I have a positive home environment and I have huge satisfaction from my work, so on lots of levels, mentally and environmentally, things are quite sound.
On the stress-relax scale, there's room for improvement, so I'm conscious that in a way I would need to radically alter my vocation and my life to score highly on the relax level, which is not going to happen at this point in my life. But I don't want to lose sight of that. I don't want to ever feel that I'm on a treadmill and I've totally lost sight of that balance. And I think – touch wood – just from having this consultation it's clear that I haven't lost sight of that balance. In that consciousness, it's a work in progress. But I'm happy there are quite large sections of my own wellbeing that are in a good place.
I don't know which recommendation will contribute the most to my overall wellbeing this week. I'm looking forward to finding out. The question is: "Is it going to be physical ie the running and the dietary things, or is is going to be cerebral, mental – the mindfulness?"
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