WORLD Mental Health Day is tomorrow Thursday 10 October – and to celebrate, the Armidale Mental Health Interagency Group will be passing on small gift parcels to those in need at various organisations in the community as random acts of kindness.
The interagency group includes as members NSW Health, RichmondPRA, Benevolent Society, Carer Assist and Centacare NENW.
The group will also host a stall at Centro on Thursday 10 October where community members can access information about local mental health services, meet local mental health services providers and chat with advocate Sara Eagle of the ‘Walking Feat’ endeavour that has seen her complete walks from Armidale to Melbourne and across Japan to raise awareness of mental mealth issues.
The theme for Mental Health Month this year is Kindness: Little acts, Big impacts.
All in the community are encouraged to to ‘pay it forward’ on this day by thinking about how to extend a gesture of goodwill and random act of kindness towards someone else. Some suggestions for how to pay it forward being promoted include:
* Smile or compliment a stranger.
* Have a cuppa with an elderly neighbour.
* Give free hugs to everybody.
* Offer your time or money to a community project.
* Register as an organ/blood donor.
* Pay for the coffee of the person in line behind you.
* Leave a great book or magazine in a café for someone else to enjoy.
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Month promotes kindness to oneself and to others as beneficial to health and well-being for everyone. This theme is about practising self-compassion, and accepting that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. It is about being kind to others, as everyone faces challenges that you might not be aware of.
It is also about encouraging kindness to others as it is good for your own well-being as the benefactor.
Mental health issues will affect one in five Australians every year. Anxiety disorders are often the most common mental health challenge, followed by depression.
Seeking help? Lifeline: 131 114, Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800, MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978, Salvation Army Hope for Life: 1300 467 354, Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636.
