Tik-Tok on the clock, but the party don’t stop: TradeMutt’s Top TikTok
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We often say that TradeMutt shirts are built tough so you don’t have to be, but just how tough? We’re trying to find out through some rigorous testing and TikTok making. One attempt saw us trying to tow Ed’s BT50 with just a shirt (and some zip ties). With Dan behind the wheel and Ed standing by as supervisor we were ready. Amazingly it worked! Our trusty shirt took the BT50 from one side of the car park to the other. Despite the success of this mission TradeMutt does not recommend that you forgo actual towing gear for one of our shirts.Here’s what people had to say about our success: Daniel Ridley685 “Will the work shirts survive a night at the pub tho?” Sasha “Is your shirt tougher than my bond with dad? Haven’t seen him in years” |
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Trick of the TradeOne Mutter submitted their trick of the trade: — Caddy Emergency Kit — Sometimes shit happens, and when it does all maintenance service Tradies should have a Caddy Emergency Kit in their Van or Ute Consisting of
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Featured Mutt“MISTY” submitted by Katie “Misty is a 10 year old purebred Kelpie that lives on a farm in Goondiwindi with her sister Dusty. Misty’s hobbies include waiting for dinner time, eating too much food, being scared of cows and generally not enjoying new humans. Good girl Misty, we love you.” To submit your mutt, DM us on Facebook or Instagram |
Think Smarter not Harder
Hey TradeMutter, hope you are having a cracker week!
You may be thinking, why the hell are Dan and Ed continuing to send us emails that have nothing to do with funky work shirts? Well in full transparency after our huge EOFYFIS sale we felt it was time to give the ‘sales’ messaging a rest and invest some more time and effort into getting out some more really important messaging around mental wellbeing. YOU WOULDN’T BLOODY READ ABOUT IT. The irony is you just did and are about to a bit more.
So if you have been following along at home you would know that Dan and I are both on mental health plans at the moment. We want to be able to use this as a way to show more vulnerability and normalise reaching out for support.
Okay, so an insight from my session with my Psych on Thursday afternoon. We did something that I have heard a lot about but never actually practiced and that was CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is one type of strategy from a range of ways that counselors can work with us. Now to give it context after my session I immediately rang my wife and then Dan to tell them just how fucking good it was, so with my cert 3 in carpentry and joinery I am going to try and explain what CBT is and how it may just be the thing you need to find out a bit more about.
According to Better Health Vic, CBT is defined as:
An effective treatment approach for a range of mental and emotional health issues, including anxiety and depression. CBT aims to help you identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts and to learn practical self-help strategies. These strategies are designed to bring about immediate positive changes in your quality of life.
So apparently Cognitive therapy is one thing and Behavioral Therapy another so it looks like CBT is best of both worlds. The way my Psych explained it was you just assess thoughts and then answer this question, is that thought accurate and/or helpful? If neither, then you need to re-work that thought to find one that is.
Below is an example one of our counselors at TIACS put together,
“I really want to be a builder but I failed my exam. I’m too dumb to study. I’m going to drop out.”
I think I’m dumb. I feel like a failure. I’m going to stop studying and not become a tradie. These negative thoughts can be destructive. CBT process will help identify the “negative thought” and help explore if they are factual evidence or assumptions. Testing this thinking and restructuring your thoughts helps you realise that these types of beliefs are false. Part of the treatment process is to help gain some greater insights and healthier thinking patterns. From there the Counsellor supports you to explore strategies that will work, set realistic goals and support you through this process. Now we have someone saying…
“I tried a new way of studying with the help of a tutor. I actually get this stuff. I’m going to keep giving this a go.”
Now back to me,
Interesting when you stop and think about it. Just because you thought it to be true, does not mean it is and it does not mean you need to accept that as fact. Ensuring you are spending some time with your thoughts and assessing them as accurate or helpful will really help improve your thought patterns as well as overall mental wellbeing.
That is probably enough for today, however if you are having trouble with negative thoughts and would like to speak to someone about improving them, reach out to the team at TIACS today. You can speak to a mental health counsellor Monday-Friday 8am-10pm AEST FREE of charge on 0488 846 988.
Ed
Have you joined our community group on Facebook The Mutt Hutt? The Mutt Hutt is an informal support network for TradeMutt Legends.
Here you will find & connect with like-minded Legends to share like-minded topics, shoot like-minded sh*t of fellow Legends, and ask questions only Legends would understand.
Join The Mutt Hutt Today
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TIACS June Update
General Manager Update - Keri
And that’s a wrap, June closes out the financial year and my first year with TIACS, couldn’t have ended it on a better note, we achieved what we set out to do, “remove the physical and financial barriers to getting quality mental health support”. We have kept demand with client needs while also strengthening our governance, policy, and processes. What is more exciting however is that we are seeing a change in the way in which males in particular are reaching out for help.
June Impact Story
Samuel (pseudonym), a regionally located client presented to TIACS with issues relating to anger which was having a considerable impact on his marriage. He was also stressed in relation to transitioning to a new line of work after being in one industry for several decades. Samuel was open minded and positive in a therapeutic context. Samuel wanted to be able to manage his anger in a healthier manner as well as receive some assistance in navigating some of the issues he was having within his marriage. Samuel reported that he had experienced difficulties controlling his anger for several years and conflict within his marriage had reached an all-time high. This is what led him to reach out for support.
Samuel began to unpack his anger through several sessions with his counsellor. These discussions allowed him to identify a variety of factors that he had not considered. Firstly, it was important to identify triggers which were contributing to his anger. Greater awareness and understanding of triggers enable individuals to defuse situations before they escalate. Samuel identified some triggers relating to his family as well as specific topics that his wife would bring up.
The next step involved analysing his mindset and determining if thought patterns were negatively contributing to the situation. This appeared to be the case with Samuel, and he determined that jumping to conclusions and making assumptions frequently led to anger. He started to challenge his mindset and noticed a positive change as a result. An example of this was asking for elaboration from others so that he had more clarity and did not have to rely on assumptions.
Challenging his mindset and the identification of triggers were complimented by relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques were not only used to relieve stress but also manage his anger in a healthier way. Samuel created a plan with his wife on actions to take when either party identified any conflict arising. This was made possible through a more open dialogue which was brought about through greater control of his anger. He identified that being able to talk more freely with his wife assisted in easing work stress as well as concerns with his anger.
Samuel engaged for 8 sessions and believed that he turned a significant corner in relation to his anger, stress, and conflict within his relationship. As time moved on, he reported significantly fewer occasions where he lost control of his anger which had a profound effect on his marriage.
Dan & Ed take a fieldtrip to Kidston
Roughly 380kms west of Townsville lies a tiny ghost town called Kidston, once famous for its plentiful deposits of alluvial gold found along the Copperfield River in the early 1900’s. Throughout the century, many flocked to the Kidston area in search of the shiny precious metal with various mining operations stopping and starting throughout the 1900’s.
After the closing of the Kidston Gold mine in 2001, and with two enormous open cut mine holes left in the earth, a new project has recently begun to turn this disused mine into a first of its kind, a pumped storage hydro project to become the third largest electricity storage device in the country.
Recently Ed and I were invited out to Kidston by Genex Power, for a tour of this incredible renewable energy project and to talk to the staff and contractors working at the site about both TradeMutt and TIACS, ensuring that awareness continues to spread about the importance of taking care of your own mental health, particularly for those working in such remote parts of the country on a FIFO basis.
Pictured above; myself and Ed alongside the upper reservoir named ‘Wises Pit’ as we take our innovative approach to mental health to an innovative renewable power project.
