Live ChatArticle written by SSAFA Welfare Officer, RAF South Team: Laura Galvin
Laura Galvin is a Welfare Officer in the RAF South Region of SSAFA’s RAF Personal Support and Social Work Service. Like her colleagues, she has vast experience both within and outside this role that she draws on, and here she gives her unique perspective.
Life is tough. Life in the military is tougher. Life in the military in Cornwall can be even tougher!
A bleak way to start an article maybe, and not necessarily true 100% of the time and not restricted to Cornwall – RAF St Mawgan in my case – as there are other stations in rural, isolated spots too (hello especially to RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Valley ).
However, in my job as a Welfare Officer, in this particular isolated location, the above statement feels true. I’m fortunate to live and work in a beautiful part of the country. My 30-minute commute takes in views of rolling hills, cows and horses in the green fields, farm produce being sold en route, and glimpses of the sea remind me how close I am to the sandy beaches. What’s not to like?
Well, when you look beneath the glossy travel brochure image of Cornwall, you discover that maybe it isn’t so perfect.
I’ll ignore the weather, but safe to say just as the Inuit have 53 words for “snow” the Cornish have as many for “rain”.
Personnel – and their spouses - at St Mawgan are often a long way from their homes, friends and families. Rural living may seem idyllic, but isolation is significant. Housing can be achingly expensive, and the cost of living is high. Hospitality, one of the county’s main industries, prohibits availability of affordable rental properties. Then add a lack of public transport and poor road networks… these all contribute to the challenges brought to me and my inbox.
We speak a lot at St Mawgan about “staying connected” and I strongly believe that if we focus on connections our sense of wellness can improve.
Maybe the most important connection is with ourselves, though this can take a little introspection to achieve.
How do we feed our minds or our souls? How do we look after our emotional self? Are we focusing on our physical wellbeing?
This may involve connecting with others but for some, it may be that solitary activities work best.
If your work day involves a lot of people, technology, and noise maybe a connection with nature is the antithesis. Will we benefit from listening to music, standing at the edge of the sea, reading a book, visiting a place of worship or walking to one of the many spiritual and archaeological sites that Cornwall has? Some will. You might.
I worked with an individual recently who had experienced the deaths of several family members in quick succession and who very much wanted to avoid any grief counselling.
Standing by the sea was where they feel connected with these precious ones. However, as our appointment went on, they shared their memories of their loved ones and said the experience of talking was cathartic. I feel privileged to be able to provide a safe space where these connections happen. It was a poignant and useful reminder that sometimes what we think people need is not always obvious.
In my previous career in education, I used to hear people talk about children being “attention seeking”. This was recently reframed, during a course I attended, that children who are emotionally stuck are in fact “connection seeking”.
What a wonderful phrase and wouldn’t we all benefit from finding a bit of increased connection in our lives – especially with ourselves?
The key thing is to remember that one size does not fit all. There are lots of options out there and it’s crucial to find what works for you.
Remember: the RAF Personal Support and Social Work Service is here for you. If you want someone to talk to, who understands life in the RAF, but who is not part of the military chain-of-command, then please get in touch with us today.