Although they tend to both spend their time sleeping, eating, and looking for a good lap to sit on (please don’t tell Oscar he’s too big, it’ll break his heart) Fred and Oscar spend a lot of their time also encouraging positive mental attitudes. Pests Production works with artists to develop new work, but also to create an environment where this can be achieved whilst considering the challenges mental health presents. As a company, we believe that the mental wellbeing of those we work with is a top priority, and Oscar and Fred are here to make sure that this approach is properly managed and enforced. This month they decided to look the idea of change.
Now for those who don’t know the past of morale officer Oscar, he’s not from the UK. Oscar is a rescue dog from Spain, and was found chained up in the garden of an abandoned house when he was a few months old. Coming from that point to now chasing rabbits through the New Forest and napping as close to the radiator as he can push his bed, Oscar is no stranger to change.
The idea of change can be terrifying, and with the New Year having just passed us by (and all those silly humans setting off fireworks that give both morale officers horrible spooks!) the idea of change is pressed onto us even more. New Year, New Me. However, just because the calendar has reset for another year doesn’t mean we need to leave ourselves in the past; but perhaps now is a good time to see how we can tweak our habits, just slightly, in order to make life easier.
Time to Change is an online resource which helps to encourage change in individuals, employers, schools, and much more, to help aid mental health and create healthier environments for us to live in. On their website, they state the following:
'Time to Change is a growing social movement working to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems. We've already reached millions of people and begun to improve attitudes and behaviour.’
Time to Change is currently running
several important campaigns all about small changes we can make to better the lives of each other and check on one another. Working to start conversations about mental health between young men, appealing people to #AskTwice when checking on how someone’s really doing, and on the 7th February, celebrating a nationwide Time To Talk Day, which aims to encourage people to start a conversation about mental health.
Change can be scary. It can be overwhelming. But it can also be a cup of tea, a good friend, and a few honest words. Opening up about how you’re feeling is a huge change that can help to start this year off for the better. Asking a friend for a second time if they’re really okay can make a massive difference to their wellbeing.
Humans are not as good at listening as dogs or cats. They don't have the huge ears of a Podenco or the sharp senses of a Siamese. But the one thing that makes Oscar and Fred such top notch listeners is, well, they listen. They don't wait for their turn to speak, they don't give advice that wasn't asked for, and they don't try to relate the conversation to themself. They just sit, and listen. Take the example of Fred and Oscar this month; sit, and listen. By doing this, you can help someone to finally, truly, express what's worrying them (and if you do it super well, you get called a Good Boy!)
Invite a co-worker round for a cuppa, make dinner for a sibling, take a parent on a walk (Oscar especially encourages this one), or sit and watch stupid videos with a friend, and give someone the opportunity to reach out. Oscar and Fred’s human has put links to the Time to Change website throughout this post, and would like to encourage everyone to have a look at what small things they can do to make a huge change.
February 7th - Make a Change. Have a chat.
We hope you enjoy good naps, good belly rubs, and good mental health this month.
Love, Oscar and Fred
