World Mental Health Day: My Story

Since 1992, every year, the 10th of October marks the observance of World Mental Health Day, a day dedicated to global awareness and understanding of mental health issues.

As a #Win4Youth Well-being Ambassador for #lhh within 德科集团 , this year I have been asked by my work team to share 'my story' and thoughts on mental health, what it means to me and what my advice is to anyone that's in need of some support.

In sharing my story it's my hope that it helps you, or someone you know, to navigate any issues they are facing with a little bit more ease and grace. The reality is that life poses all of us many challenges and as a result there are times when each of us need a little extra help and reassurance to keep moving forward.

What does mental health mean to me?

Mental health means the world to me. It means having peace of mind and being able to navigate the many curve balls that life throws my way with relative ease and grace.

Has there been a time where I had to deliberately take accountability for my own mental health? How did I do that? What did I do?

There have been many occasions when I have taken accountability for my own mental health, most of those have specifically been in response to losses and grief that I have experienced over the years.

For example, by the time I was 27 years old I had lost my only living grandma to cervical cancer and both my parents to bowel cancer - they all passed away within 3.5 years of each other. In fact on the day I took my mum into the same Hospice my father had passed away in, I also experienced my first redundancy (then my mum passed away 2 weeks later).

To support my mental health I proactively sort out the services of a grief counsellor on several occasions in the years during and after those events in order to process my grief and resolve my upset, initially so that I could function, and then so I could thrive.

A more recent example is, in March this year I received the news that my big brother had died in an emergency surgery in the UK - the news of his death hit me like a sledge hammer. I did a few things to proactively manage my mental health; I took some time off to grieve, sleep and cry.

I spoke with my Manager and was open with my colleagues about why I was not my usual bouncy self – that enabled me to simply feel what I was feeling and process it all in my own time. It also enabled my colleagues to support me and look out for me during that time.

I also did a 36km Charity Walk from Byron to Ballina and dedicated the walk to him as a Pilgrimage; it really helped me to say goodbye and honour him and my grief.?

I took this photo during the walk. Now when I look at it I feel connected to him and at peace emotionally.

What one piece of advice can I share with colleagues about being proactive around their mental health?

My advice on how to be proactive around your mental health is invest in your own personal and professional development, always be curious and willing to learn and develop a deep self-awareness.

Nurture your network (family, friends & your work team) – having a strong support network around you will make a real difference.

Also stay physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually fit; it helps you stay present and resilient to whatever comes your way.

Finally, last year I became an 'Accredited Mental Health First Aider' - I am so glad I chose to invest in the training as I was surprised how much I needed to learn. I believe we all deserve to have peace of mind and thriving mental health, yet sometimes events that happen in our lives and ongoing circumstances make it hard for us to manage.

Being able to support someone as a mental health first aider has given me a new view on mental health and also the ability to help people who are in need in a more tangible way than I was able to before.

If you haven't checked out this vital training before, please jump on to the www.mhfa.com.au website to learn more about the qualification in Australia (or google local links for your country).

Remember, one conversation can make a world of difference in someones life.

Thanks Tee-Jay x