#HelloYellow
*Today I wear yellow to show young people how they feel matters.*
It is Mental Health Awareness Day (10th of October) and @youngmindsuk is encouraging everyone to wear something yellow and donate towards the charity. Here’s more info:
Side note: I found it easier to donate via Instagram, so check out my post and story on @bsideblog.
Now, I’m not just wearing a yellow t-shirt. I’m wearing the #RECONNECT t-shirt! What’s that? It’s a project by DEIS (Ro), funded by the European Solidarity Corps, that aims to improve the mental state of young people through a series of workshops around managing social anxiety and creating healthy relations through music, dance, and drama. Basically, young people (re)connect with themselves, other young people, and their passions.
On a personal level, I’m also doing this because I’ve only recently come to learn how complex mental health is. When I did the LVL 2 course in Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health, I discovered that mental health is a spectrum from well-being to distress and it’s such a complex yet fragile balance. I’ve come to realise that even someone without any major trauma [i.e. me] can struggle sometimes. Then, what about the young people that had to deal with family breakdowns, abuse, and more?
As a youth worker, I believe it is one of my responsibilities to raise awareness around mental health, create safe spaces for young people to open up, explore their feelings, and just be themselves, and try to offer some counselling when I can.
Take care of your mental health today and every day!
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