Caring for your mental health, all year round
“Mental health. . . is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.”
World Mental Health Day was on 10 October this year and offers a day to unite in our efforts to raise awareness and mobilise people around the world about mental health. This is a great time to increase the conversations about mental health, encouraging people to seek the support they need and to further educate many about the impacts of poor mental health on everyday life.
Caring for your mental health at all times of the year is important, but these days and awareness events can help give us the reminders we need to check in with ourselves and others. It is especially important to receive these little reminders when in grief or supporting someone who is grieving.
We’ve shared a number of pieces over the past few years about mindfulness, mental wellbeing and caring for your mental health. Here are a few that could support you now and in the future to look out for your mental health.
Mindfulness - a way to reconnect to ourselves and others
We actively encourage mindfulness at SMCT. Cherishing and recognising each moment that we have while honouring the lives of those who are no longer with us.
This article offers some insights into how to be mindful, how to access support for mindful practices and ways to include it in your everyday.
R U OK? Day - how to keep the conversation alive
”Healing takes time, and asking for help is a courageous step.” Mariska Hargitay
R U OK? Day comes around every year and it sparks incredible conversations about mental health and how to look out for one another. But what happens after that day?
This article provides information on how to keep the conversation going long after the initial question is asked. Like mindfulness, checking in on the mental health of others, as well as ourselves, is an ongoing practice. You’ll also find some places here to gain support if you need it.
Celebrating the little wins - what productivity looks like when grieving
This article is all about putting one foot in front of the other.
When in grief, it can feel like there are no wins. Like each day is a battle. Like every small action is a huge, insurmountable challenge. It can feel like we’ll never move on from this place. It’s at this time, that we need to focus on the small, but important, little wins in our day. Celebrating even the smallest achievement can help us to take one more step forward. And it’s those little wins, consistently that help us move forward.
This also applies to our mental health from day to day. It’s a journey, not a destination, and it requires consistent steps to maintain, monitor and manage our wellbeing.
How to deal with stress and grief
Stress is often a sign or a signal that something is not quite right with our mental health. It could be that we are in a particularly challenging time, such as when grieving, or perhaps there are added elements in our daily life that are causing stress.
It’s important to address stress in its early stages and this article offers some tools and strategies of how to reduce and manage stress, especially when grieving.
We hope that these articles and more to come in the future about mindfulness, wellbeing and managing grief can all contribute to your mental health journey.
If you need support while grieving and would like to look at some gentle activities with guidance, visit the Centre for Care & Wellbeing page support.
If you are in need of grief counselling or additional support, please contact Grief Australia for resources and guidance - 1800 642 066. Grief Australia is the largest provider of grief and bereavement education in Australia, providing support for bereaved and grieving Australians for more than 22 years.
If you are feeling worried, low or struggling to cope, please call Lifeline or Beyond Blue for immediate help and support.
Lifeline
Lifeline provides all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to online, phone and face-to-face crisis support and suicide prevention services.
24 Hr Telephone Crisis Support – 13 11 14
Beyond Blue
No matter how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you, Beyond Blue has information, strategies and expert advice to help support you.
Call 1800 512 348 24 hours / 7 days a week
For additional support during COVID-19, Beyond blue have created this dedicated space:
Online forums 24 hours / 7 days a week
“You don’t have to be positive all the time. It’s perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared and anxious. Having feelings doesn’t make you a negative person. It makes you human.”