Hi team,

Crazy. Busy. Exhausted. These are the three words I hear the most when I ask people how they are. Not just at MN but everywhere I go. The world is indeed frantic as we do our best to manage our personal and professional lives.

In asking the diversity of individuals and teams that make up our HHS how they cope with these ongoing demands and challenges, the most common response is having a sense of humour. Thanks especially to our nursing colleagues who seem to have mastered the “too soon” comment often made to those that get to humour before others do!  You know what they say, the difference between tragedy and comedy is time.

As a coping mechanism humour can be very effective! It’s also important to remember that it’s also very personal. Not everyone will be there yet if they’re still processing. It’s important to be able to laugh at life and at ourselves from time to time. Charlie Chaplin once said that “life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot”.

A dear friend in Melbourne lost her mum to COVID in 2020. There’s a time for grieving of course. She was a fit and healthy 68-year-old. She is and was much loved and so dearly missed. Karen and her family are still grieving the loss of their mum. I do however distinctly remember her telling me a few months after her passing that it is now time to have some fun again. To smile. To remember that she had a sense of humour and to laugh out loud again. She told us all that she would start sending funny memes to us and for us to offer her the same opportunity to laugh! This is one of the first she sent to us all…

It made me laugh. Most importantly it made her laugh too! 😊

Humour helps. So does a good sleep, a brisk walk, good wine, great company and the many other things our teams shared with me about how to cope better!

If you’re resilience reservoir is low, remember it’s ok to not be ok.

If you’re having trouble finding the humour, reach out to someone you feel comfortable with. You can search QHEPS for a peer responder or Equity Information Officer, contact our staff psychologists via MNStaffPsychology@health.qld.gov.au or our employee assistance provider on 1300 360 364. Or chat to a colleague or friend about how you’re feeling.

May you go looking for and find something to smile about today!

Kind regards,

Bruce