Focus: Mental Health
World Mental Health Day and Self Care World Mental Health Day – 10 October – was a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. This year’s theme, Do You See What I See?, challenges perceptions about mental illness in Australia and encourages everyone to look at mental health in a more positive light, in an effort to reduce stigma and make way for more people to seek the help and support they deserve...
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in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness annually, yet many don’t seek help because of stigma. During the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritising mental health and wellbeing has been more important than ever. This World Mental Health Day – October 10 – the message was simple: “Look after your mental health, Australia.” It is a great reminder of the importance of one’s own personal health and well-being. Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced
stress and anxiety. It is key to a good relationship with oneself and others. Where do you begin? 1. Stick to the basics. Focus on activities that work for you. Get these right and you are off to a great start. 2. It needs to be something you actively plan and not something that just happens. Make a plan, write it down, block time in your calendar. Stay focused. 3. Keep an open mind, believe that the activities you choose will help you take care of your mental health. Focus on the outcomes. Running my own business for many years was rewarding and challenging. When things were
Tim Hoopmann, Speaker and Trainer Experienced founder with a demonstrated history growing small business. Strong entrepreneurship and professionally skilled in Business Planning, Cloud Technology, Sales, Marketing, and Operations Management. A passion for helping small businesses use technology as a key enabler to increase productivity and decrease costs. A volunteer speaker for beyondblue, an Australian organisation that works to raise awareness of anxiety and depression, reduce the associated stigma and encourage people to get help.
running smoothly if felt wonderful and the best job in the world. At other times the pressure felt unbearable. I felt I was always juggling the needs of clients, employees, suppliers and the tax office. I struggled with finding time for myself. This seesaw effect was often difficult to manage. It took great perseverance to juggle all the different needs a business throws at you each day. Over many years I learnt to manage the highs and lows. I don’t feel I was ever an expert at it, I just found different approaches for me that worked well. Over time I became aware of the challenges I would face on a daily basis. Learning about the best way for me to cope with them took time. I would trial different approaches. I would listen to my mind and my body. I learnt to be mindful of my stress levels and asses when the levels were reduced. I built resilience. I realised to be successful and survive, I needed to manage these challenges. They weren’t going away. I wanted to continue running my own business and in doing so
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