World Mental Health Day
Sunday 10th October 2021 is World Mental Health Day. We are asking you to join us in our campaign to ‘Stop the stigma’ and make a pledge to do something for your own mental health or the health of the people around you.
Looking after your mental health is just as important as being physically healthy. There are lots of things that you can do for your own mental health, and support those around you. Join our campaign and pledge to do something to Care, Create or Challenge yourself.
Care
Practice some self-care – Quality “me time” is different and personal for each of us; whether it is getting out and exploring the outdoors, being active, treating yourself or taking time to relax and practicing some mindfulness, find some time for you. Pledge to do it once, or regularly – you deserve it!
Connect with family, friends and colleagues – Pledge to check in with someone you’ve not spoken to recently, ask them how they are and really listen to the answer. Or arrange an activity; have coffee with a colleague, go for a walk with a friend or have a family meal.
Care for your community – Isle Listen is entirely funded by the generous support of our community. Donations help us continue our vital early intervention work with young people across Island schools, giving them the tools they need to navigate a range of emotional challenges. You can make a donation here.
Say it with flowers – Make Someone’s Day with Signature’s beautiful autumnal arrangement, created specially for World Mental Health Day. The bouquet is a perfect way to brighten someone’s day, or inject seasonal colour into your home, while also supporting our vital work.
Create
Get artistic – Being creative can increase our positive emotions and reduce negative stress. There are lots of ways to be creative; art, writing, music, dancing – find something that works for you and make yourself a pledge to do it.
Spend time in the garden – Connecting with nature is brilliant for our wellbeing, growing food promotes a good diet and the physical task of gardening helps keep you fit and healthy. You could even pledge to do someone else’s gardening. Manx Wildlife trust have tips on making room for wildlife in our gardens.
Creation in the kitchen – Cooking for friends and family is a great way to get people together and experimenting with ingredients and recipes is another way to express our creativity. Make a pledge to make it happen.
Challenge
Learn something new – It can be hard to find time to start something new but acquiring a skill or taking up a hobby improves our brain health, helps with self-confidence and fosters our relationships with others. Pledge to sign up to a course, take some lessons, or start by watching instructional videos on YouTube.
Take on a physical challenge – Make a pledge to walk or cycle to work, take the stairs instead of the lift for a month, push yourself to run that extra mile or give a new sport a try. Participating in physical activity, even for 10 minutes, can give a boost to our mood and mental alertness.
Push yourself to do that thing you’ve been putting off – It never feels good to have something hanging over you and can impact your sleep and create negative stress. Make a pledge to break the task down into manageable bits and give yourself a reward once it’s complete.
Talk about your own mental health – It’s not always easy to be honest about how you are feeling. Challenge yourself by pledging to be more open with others and encourage them to share how they are feeling. Read our tips on how you can help remove the stigma surrounding mental health.
Make a Pledge and support our campaign
Send us your pledge, either for World Mental Health Day or something you want to achieve over an extended period, and we will add it to our pledge wall.
Your pledge could be as an individual, a family, a team or company.
Help us to continue our vital work and stop the stigma. Your donations make a real and lasting difference.
Make a donationKeep taking time out to do the things that I enjoy – gardening, cooking, walking, reading and also get back to spin!
Pam
Swim (in the sea) for my own mental health and through sharing good times & listening, the mental health of anyone who joins me. Cold water swimming is great for stress busting, but please don’t dive straight in! You need to acclimatise gradually. #manxbluetits
Kirsty
I pledge to stick to continuing to follow the Couch to 5k programme and run 5K
Learn to accept my past and love myself.
Helen
I will pledge to have some ‘Me time’ to give myself some self care, create some delicious meals for my new week, and challenge myself to turn off all notifications on my phone for the day and not pick up my phone from 5pm onwards on Sunday evening.
Always show love to the people around me, old and new.
Jamie
Care for my friend by giving her the time and space she needs to grieve for her loss while being there for her when she is ready.
Our office is so busy, but I’m going to take time to check in on each team member to see how they are.
Look after myself rather than putting other people first (especially if it’s not healthy).
Victoria
I’m going to try harder not to worry about things that are out of my control
I’m going to make time to get to know me as I don’t know who me is anymore.
Jo
One of my friends has just moved to America. I am going to Facetime her once a week to check how the move is going.
Mike
I want to eat better so I feel happier that I’m keeping my body healthy.
I am going to learn to cook so I can make tea for my mum!
Alice
I’ll be going for a run – my favourite anti depressant.