1. Attention - with Steph Sorrell

Welcome to our very first episode with a guest! We are starting our podcast with a mini-series on the personal resources, which are essential for performance and wellbeing: attention, energy and time. We firmly belief that learning to manage these resources well is key to a sustainable and enjoyable work life- but of course this is not always easy and so we are inviting guests who can share their own insights and experiences around resource management. 

Our first guest is Steph Sorrell, European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine and RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine. Steph has also completed the level 5 Diploma in Mental Health Awareness and Wellbeing and Mindfulness Champion training and is passionate about increasing the mental health in the veterinary profession. 

Steph shares her own thoughts, insights and experiences about attention and attention control. 

In this episode we discuss: 

• How controlling our attention can improve the work we do, how we feel and our ability to reflect on our activities
• Ways in which attention has helped Steph to deal with her own personal and professional challenges
• The way in which attention can help us to process our emotions
•  How we can learn to become more attentive 

Where to find Steph Sorrell:
On the web:
https://themindfulvet.co.uk

 On social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-sorrell-02bb85164/
https://www.instagram.com/themindfulvetuk/
https://www.facebook.com/mindfullivingvet

Tuesday evening sessions 8pm BST (together with Petra Agthe):
The live sessions are currently paused as we are working on a YouTube channel with on-demand recordings.

Other resources you may find interesting:
Podcasts on the topic of attention:
https://brenebrown.com/podcast/finding-focus-and-owning-your-attention/
https://drchatterjee.com/johann-hari-on-how-to-reclaim-your-attention/

Interesting books on the topic
https://amishi.com/books/peak-mind
https://stolenfocusbook.com

Want to start meditating? Here are some of our recommendations for meditation Apps:

• Ten Percent Happier (Basic courses free, full version for subscription)
• Insight timer (free)
• UCLA Mindful (free)

Study about autopilot mentioned in the episode:
Killingsworth, M. and Gilbert, D. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), p.932.

How To Support Us:
We are happily funding this podcast ourselves to keep it independent. However, you can show your support by giving a donation towards a mental health project for Ukrainian veterinary colleagues: https://galaxyvets.foundation/campaigns/mental-health-support-for-ukrainian-veterinary-professionals/

We value your feedback! Please email us your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to vetmindworks@gmail.com

Want to find out more about host Petra? Check out
https://www.ourresilientminds.com

Credits: Music- Deep Ambience by Coma-Media, Pixabay; Images for Artwork- OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay