ALI JAWAD:

British Paralympic powerlifter and upcoming speaker at The Watercooler, a free two-day event on workplace wellbeing taking place May 25-26 (watercoolerevent.com)

My mental health is crucial to my performance – it’s another training tool, the same as being in a gym. And for me, breaks from social media, breaks away from my phone, and time being

in the moment with those closest to me are all crucial for my mental health.

One of the hardest things to do in this high-paced, technology-driven world is maintain personal mental health. There are so many filters, Photoshopped images, and pressure to be better, richer, fitter, slimmer, more beautiful, and show the world. It’s virtually impossible to properly switch off.

But it’s like a car – if you leave a car

running non-stop, the engine will break, you will run out of fuel, and the car becomes useless. Mental health is the same. If you don’t switch off, don’t look after yourself, you will run out of fuel and break.

My advice: take breaks from social media, put your phone down when you’re with people, stop judging your life on social media (it isn’t real!), and no emails in bed – that’s your safe space for sleep and relaxing.