As part of the Construction Industry Federation’s (CIF) Construction Safety Week, we asked Limerick All-Ireland hurling champion and Kirby Training Officer Kyle Hayes to share his tips for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing. #CIFSafety21

In August, the Limerick hurling team played in front of 40,000 fans at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, with a further two million watching at home.

“You can’t focus on the crowd or the expectations of people watching at home. You have to live in the moment and focus on your goals as a team.

If you took it all on board, it would overwhelm you and you wouldn’t play to the best of your ability,” says Kyle.

Here are Kyle’s Top Tips for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing:

Connect with others

Whether it’s sending a message to a friend or reaching out to a colleague to have a coffee, conversations and connections are a basic human need.

Be physically active

When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins and serotonin. These chemicals trigger a positive sense of wellbeing, regulate our mood, sleep and appetite.

Eat healthily

Eating regularly and choosing healthy foods helps to keep your sugar levels steady, and in turn will boost your mood.

Get proper rest

Poor sleep is linked to weakened immune systems and mental health problems.

Develop strategies for dealing with life’s stressors

We all experience stress to some degree. Some stress can be good, it can push us to work hard. But too much stress can make us feel overwhelmed, and prolonged stress can eventually lead to problems.

Stay positive

Positive thinking helps you deal with stress and can even improve your health.

Ask for help when needed

It is okay not to be okay, and if you need help, there are plenty of support networks available to you, whether that is the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity helpline or in-house Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), like the one at Kirby. They provide confidential advice and support when you need it most.

Aim for a good work-life balance

When you invest in better work-life balance your physical and mental health improves and your commitment and motivation at work increase.

“In every part of your life, whether that’s playing high-level sport or working under pressure on site, you have to look after yourself and that requires a huge amount of mental resilience. You can’t focus on your mistakes, you have to focus on your goal and keep a positive mindset at all times,” he adds.

Every day from October 25th to October 29th Construction Safety Week focuses on five of the biggest safety issues facing our industry. The focus for Tuesday, October 26th is ‘Mind your Mental Health in partnership with the Lighthouse Club Construction Industry Charity’s Help Inside the Hard Hat campaign.

The charity provides a 24/7 safety net for all construction workers and their families in the UK and Ireland  can contact the Construction Industry on UK 0345 605 1956 or ROI 1800 939 122.