On World Mental Health Day, October 10th, One Future Collective came up with a host of initiatives to commemorate the global celebration of self care and mental health awareness. This is brief report of all our initiatives conducted that day.
I. A Self-Care Workshop in Partnership with WeWork
Seldom do we all take time to pause and dive deep into the multiple aspects of our well-being. This Mental Health Day, One Future Collective organized a self-care workshop to start conversations around different branches of holistic well-being.
This workshop saw full-fledged discussions on the seven different aspects of well-being which were stirred deeper by our facilitator, Nishma. The different aspects of well-being discussed were sexual, mental, relational, emotional, spiritual, economic, physical. After in-depth conversations, the participants shared positive affirmations anonymously with each other, spoke at length about community care, the significance and power of safe spaces and support groups and self-dialogue. You can read the detailed report here.
II. Twitter Chat on Self Care for Caregivers
We held a Twitter chat on the topic of Self Care for Caregivers. The chat was moderated by Vini Doshi, Psychologist and Research Associate with us. We explored the intersection of self care and community to initiate conversations around building better support systems for caregivers. We also explored the concept of caregivers and how self care can be different for each person. We also looked at how community care and social systems can affect caregivers and the practise of self care. We explored questions around the definition of caregivers, what we understand as self care, how we can improve support systems and community care for caregivers, what are some self care techniques caregivers can practise and so on. You can read the detailed report here.
III. Launch of our Manual on Self Care for Caregivers
At the end of the chat, we launched our manual on Self Care for Caregivers. The manual is an introductory manual that hopes to begin conversations and awareness around the need for self care among caregivers. It recognises the individual needs of every caregiver and provides a flexible framework to help and encourage caregivers initiate their journey towards caring for themselves. The manual dispels myths related to self care and provides a scale to identify a caregiver’s level of stress. With the help of the manual, caregivers (and anyone who wishes to) can develop their personal self care plan. With resources and information on conveying one’s self care plan, one can be more assertive to express their needs and may feel better equipped to deal with the resulting anxiety and guilt. You can download the manual here.
IV. Crowdsourced Music Playlist for Feeling Better
This #WorldMentalHealthDay, we compiled a list of songs that we crowdsourced through an informal call for songs that make people feel better, in our communities. You can find the playlist here. We do hope that this playlist helps you feel good when you’re down.
Featured image source: Mikes Mind