Connecting with others is important for our health and survival. Research tells us that feeling connected, valued and loved by others gives us a sense of security, support, purpose and happiness. Close connections and good relationships with others allows us to enjoy the good times in our lives and helps us deal with the hard experiences we face. This is important for all of us! Unfortunately in today’s society, we have many demands on our attention and time, and more people experience loneliness in Australia than ever before. For those experiencing or living with mental illness, loneliness can be far worse as individuals can face social exclusion, stigma and discrimination. As social beings, this can affect all aspects of our wellbeing.

To help encourage people to connect with others, the theme for Mental Health Month 2017 is:

Share the Journey 

This theme focuses on the importance of social connections in:

1. Our journey to better mental health and
2. Our ability to cope with life’s challenges. Good social connections not only improve our overall mental health and wellbeing, they also build our resilience.

This year’s theme for Mental Health Month is Learn and Grow.

So what does this mean?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health is the state of well-being in which every individual with their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community (WHO, 2014)[1].

So for October 2016’s Mental Health Month, WayAhead is encouraging people and communities to learn more about mental health and use that knowledge to grow personally and take control of their mental wellbeing.

Nearly half of all Australians (45%) will experience some form of mental illness during their lifetime, and those that don’t will most likely know someone that does. But there’s still a lot of stigma and confusion around the topic and that’s where learning and growing comes in.

It’s important to make sure that as many people as possible know what mental illness looks like and what can be done to treat it – even if it’s not an issue for you right now, it might be one day, either for you or someone you know.

The theme also encourages everyone to learn new and exciting things, as the very act of learning can have many positive outcomes on our mental health and wellbeing – no matter what you choose to learn about.

During the month of October, communities around NSW will be holding events focusing on this theme and we encourage everyone to find out what’s happening near them and to get involved.

WayAhead have produced a Learn and Grow Fact Sheet with more information on the theme and we have translations available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Thai and Vietnamese.

You can download our Fact Sheet here.

[1] Mental Health: a state of well-being, World Health Organisation, 2014 http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/

 

The main message of this theme is to prioritise our mental health and wellbeing just as much as we would to maintain our physical and social health. When we make our mental health a priority, we are actively practicing self-care, which is an important part of our daily life. Similar to being physically healthy, maintaining a healthy mind helps to prevent mental illness and other issues that can make daily living a struggle and it also allows for a positive lifestyle.

[Read more…]