Melita Griffin has a very impressive resume. Awarded the 2013 Tasmanian Telstra Young Businesswomen’s Award and the 2014 Fundraising Institute of Australia’s Young Fundraiser of the Year Award, Melita has been recognised as an outstanding relationship builder committed to the all-purpose sector. Following a lengthy flare up in 2015/16, Melita has embraced the importance of self-care and is passionat about inspiring others to put themselves first.
Q1. You have extensive experience working for mental health support services. What advice do you have for people living with IBD regarding the importance of investing in their emotional well being?
Emotional health is part of your physical health and I strongly believe you need to attend to both to achieve positive outcomes in managing IBD. If one of these is out of balance it usually impacts the other. It's important to focus on self care and discover what works for you. For example, I know I need my sleep, but often my sleep is compromised if I am stressed or emotionally distracted. I also know that I need regular exercise to help maintain my Crohn's, which is not too much and not too little! Engaging in regular physical activities like going to my gym is also good for social connection and my overall emotional wellbeing.
Q2. What strategies do you use personally to maintain good mental health, especially on challenging days?
Listen to my body! I've learnt to know when I need to push through and when to pull back. I also do a lot of self talk, or talking to myself and reminding me it's OK to slow down or even stop. As part of this listening it is also critical for me to communicate to others about what I need. For example, if I am having a bad day to let people know I am not at my best. This doesn't always means I am 'not present', but purely I am putting my brakes on.
Q3. How important is work-life balance when living with a disease like Crohn’s? And how do you juggle the challenges of work and raising two-teenagers?
Juggle is the right term. I am no circus performer, so recognising that I sometimes drop a few balls and that's OK. My balance has actually been about my network of people around me! There is no way I could fit in what I fit in, if it wasn't for the amazing people around me, especially my husband. The benefits to teenagers is that I can talk to them about the different juggles and actively involve them in my prioritising. There is no one answer to working out the balance, but being open to always working at it is very important.
Q4. Why is raising awareness about IBD important to you? What is the one thing you would like the community to understand about living with IBD?
Flushing out the stigma is important to me. I am still surprised about how many people look shocked when I tell them I have Crohn's and I wonder what the shock is about. The one thing I would like the community to understand is that it is a complex disease and that no two people with Crohn's ever experience the same symptoms or challenges. It is not as simple as knowing what foods can trigger you! It is an autoimmune disease that looks so different for everyone.
