You’ll have seen on the news the current situation with Ukraine and Russia. As a global corporation with a multinational workforce, we’re currently supporting our fleet and shoreside colleagues from Ukraine and Russia, and encourage anyone who’s been personally impacted to talk to their line manager.
We also recognise that many other colleagues may be affected by the situation in different ways, so we’re sharing some tips to help deal with uncertainty and feelings of anxiety.
Manage ‘headline anxiety’
With breaking news constantly flooding in, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious.
- Limit your news and social media consumption
- It’s healthy to have an interest in news and current events, however obsessive habits of consuming information can be dangerous for your mental health. Set yourself a time limit and stick to it. You can also mute words and phrases on certain social media platforms. On iPhone set up ‘Focus’ and ‘Screen Time’ limits to help you. You can find them in ‘Settings’.
- Follow trusted accounts
- There’s lots of “Fake News” at the moment and it can be hard to tell what’s real. Look for verified accounts and stories from independent news channels like the BBC or Sky News.
- Switch to good news
- Don’t feel guilty for binging on a boxset set or listening to a happy podcast. It’s important that we’re aware of other people’s experiences, but it’s equally important that we switch off what’s draining us and recharge our own batteries.
- Talk to your children
- War is difficult enough for most adults to understand, but for children it can be really confusing and scary. This article guides you through how to have conversations with children.
Communicate
Whether you communicate in person, through email, via chat or on the phone, talking to people you trust will always help. Let your colleagues, line manager, family and friends know how you’re feeling because other people will most likely be feeling the same way. Also check-in with colleagues and ask them how they are feeling.
Our all-colleague support network is also in place if you would benefit from this. Find out more on The Insider here.
Control the controllables
By identifying the things you can control, you’ll feel less stressed about the uncertain things you can’t control. For example, you can’t control what’s in the news, but you can control how much time you spend consuming it.
- Set a routine
- This helps control your day; what time you get up in the morning, when you take a break from work, when to exercise, when to go to bed etc. Stress can cause changes to your sleep and eating patterns and a routine helps to deal with this.
- Practice mindfulness
- This technique involves noticing what’s happening in the present moment and can help you feel calmer, less stressed, and more able to choose how to respond to difficult or unhelpful thoughts and feelings. It’s easy to learn and studies show that practising mindfulness can help to manage common mental health problems like depression, anxiety and feelings of stress. Sign up for a Mindfulness Power Hour on The Cove here.
- Write your worries down
- Getting your worries out of your head is proven to help reduce anxiety and stress. Make a habit of it by doing it every day in a journal or the notes app of your phone. You can even throw the page away/delete the note once you’re done!
- Make use of Carnival UK resources
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- Take a look at the Learning Guide and sign up for a Power Hour or Leaders Exchange. Topics for March and April include compassion and mindfulness. Book here.
- On The Cove, enrol on the ‘Time for Wellbeing’ learning path. Find it in your Library.
- You’ll also find lots of self-learning resources on Good Practice – use the menu to find topics or ‘Search for Something’ to look for keywords.
- Listen to these podcasts that talk about dealing with the anxiety of uncertainty and staying resilient in challenging times.
- Read this Mental Health Foundation pocket guide on how to overcome fear and anxiety
If you’d like to show solidarity and support
There’s little people outside Ukraine can do to directly change what happens next and that feeling of helplessness can often make what we’re seeing much harder to bear. Global Citizen has shared meaningful ways you can show solidarity with Ukraine. Read more here.
The best possible way to support affected people in Ukraine is to donate directly to a reputable fundraising charity.
If colleagues would like to donate, we suggest the Red Cross.
If you’d like to donate essential items locally, there are groups taking donations in Southampton, Whiteley/Fareham and Portsmouth. Find out more here.
If you need urgent medical attention due to your mental health, please contact your on-board medical team, shoreside GP, dial 999, or contact the Samaritans on 116 123, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Non urgent support can be found here.