Where, how and what will you do this Mental Health Week?
WITH two sell-out major events, and buzzing traffic across the socials and website, we are very excited to bring you Mental Health Week in 2022.
Nearly 500 people will attend the Opening Ceremony tomorrow afternoon at Luna Cinemas to watch the Perth film premiere of Pieces, directed by Martin Wilson.
The University Club of WA Breakfast by the Bay event on 12 October sold out at 220 people in record timing of one week - proving just how popular the theme is for this year, with academics and experts talking to 'Where we live, how we live, what we've lived.'
On World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) will announce the finalists across nine categories for the WA Mental Health Awards.
Understanding how the mind, body and environment intersect is essential to looking after our overall mental health and wellbeing.
WAAMH chief executive officer Taryn Harvey said the physical health of our bodies and the environmental health of our planet and local environments shape and influence our mental health.
"The nutrition we consume, movement of our bodies, the health of the planet and quality of our housing and neighbourhoods all play a part in building health communities and individuals," Ms Harvey said.
"Our bodies keep a physical store of what we experience in life, with toxic stress and traumatic incidents a major impact and rapidly emerging field to explore and understand.
"It's important to encourage a trauma-informed lens in trying to understand challenging behaviours, intrusive thoughts and reactions.
"Learning how to process, heal and grow from negative experiences shapes our resilience, access to new opportunities, coping skills, strong connections and relationships, and quality of life."
WA Mental Health Week has been coordinated by the peak body for community mental health, the Western Australian Association for Mental Health for more than 50 years, with support from the WA Mental Health Commission in more recent years to ensure its far-reaching success.
Normally around 100,000 people State-wide connect with Mental Health Week in some way either by sharing digital information, hosting a workplace, school, sector or community event or applying for a grant.
This year WAAMH distributed $50,000 worth of grants towards events; sporting and musical equipment; mental health education courses; and relaxation and social outings for people with lived experience.
Check out all the 100 events happening around the State at mentalhealthweek.org.au/events and all the resources you can print, post and share are at mentalhealthweek.org.au/resources
To complement the events and resources, there are also tips and reels of advice doing the rounds on Instagram and Facebook - so give us a follow!
