#ArchivistAppraiseThyself

ARA Ireland’s new Archivist Wellness Campaign, October 2021

You’ve all heard of the expression Physician Heal Thyself? Well now we have Archivist Appraise Thyself! ARA Ireland are running a new month long campaign in October encouraging our members to take stock of their mental health, and to start learning new habits to improve it, while also recognising the pitfalls of our profession which may lead to strain on our well being.

Why now? ARA Ireland have for some time been aware of and concerned about the pressures faced by our members. In the normal course of our work we face many challenges including physical and sometimes emotional isolation, lack of understanding and support of our work from colleagues, external pressure to provide access to closed records, internal pressure to destroy/close records we feel should be open, pressure to do our jobs with limited resources, and pressure to be Jacks and Jills of all trades. Over the course of the last 18 months, we as a profession have faced additional pressures to upskill and pivot, to provide more services online, to do less with more, and in some cases have either had to cover for colleagues who have lost their jobs, or have lost jobs ourselves. Our personal lives have also been under strain, with many facing additional challenges of caring for family members, working from home in unsuitable conditions while juggling school education for young ones, and in some tragic cases dealing with the loss of loved ones which have either been caused or exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, and related restrictions.

As a result, ARA Ireland have launched a new campaign for the month of October, centered around World Mental Health Day (10th October). As part of this new campaign, we are delighted to bring you a presentation from the wonderful people at Heartfulness Ireland on Wednesday 6th of October, carefully customised to address the worries, stresses and strains of members in our profession. This 45 minute presentation on self-compassion will look at how we manage stress, the evolution of us as a species, and how this has led to us sabotaging our mental health. It will be followed by a 15 minute meditation session. We hope as many of you as possible attend.

You can register here. (Please register by Tuesday 5th October, 7pm. A Zoom link for the event will then be sent to all attendees.)

Throughout the month we will also be posting short audio/video clips. The posts will include information on the benefits of meditation in terms of physiological and emotional benefits and will cover Heartfulness Relaxation, Heartfulness Meditation and Heartfulness Rejuvenation. More information on this event and on the month long campaign #ArchivistAppraiseThyself will be coming soon.

In the meantime, mind yourselves, tabhairigí aire and we hope to see you online very soon.