Earlier this year, we ran 21km to put a spotlight on the mental health of South Africa’s youth and show that we’re all In It Together. Now it’s time for us to work together to make South Africa a friendlier place for anyone suffering from mental health challenges.
Would you like to take small steps towards taking better care of your mental health and the mental health of others? It Can Be. Take our In It Together challenge to show that you care.
Our challenge has 3 parts:
1) Acts of appreciation
Small acts of kindness can brighten up someone’s day. In this part of the challenge, you only need to take little steps towards making your fellow South Africans happy:
DAY 1: Today, see what difference smiling makes to yourself and others.
DAY 2: Today, see what happens when you compliment someone.
DAY 3: Today, see what happens when you help someone, even if it’s with something small.
Tell us how it went:
We’d love to know how it made the person you were kind to feel, and how it made you feel. Has someone ever surprised you with a kind act? Let us know how it changed your day.
2) Acts of support
Performing small acts of kindness is wonderful, but now we need to go a little deeper and ask: how can we support others who are going through mental health challenges? Mental health is a complex issue, but these 3 tasks are a great place to start when it comes to looking after the well-being of your loved ones:
DAY 4: Ask someone about their problems and let them know they’re not alone.
DAY 5: Encourage someone who needs it to see a counsellor.
DAY 6: Tell people about SADAG and other free mental health resources.
Tell us how it went:
Let us how the people you spoke to in this part of the challenge received your advice, and we’d also love to know if anyone has ever given you this kind of advice and how it made you feel.
3) Acts of self-care
You can’t take care of others unless you start by taking care of yourself. In this part of the challenge, we will look at ways to show yourself love and care:
DAY 7: Do something today just for yourself to look after your mental health.
Tell us how it went:
We’d love to hear your method for looking after yourself. Did it involve exercise, meditation, another kind of spiritual or religious practice, speaking to a counsellor or something else? What are your tips for looking after your mental health?
There is no magical solution to solve the mental health challenges many of us go through, but through small acts of kindness towards ourselves and others in this challenge, we can make a commitment to putting mental health front and centre of our national discourse.
If you feel alone, remember that we’re all In It Together.
Here are some places you can turn to if you or someone you know needs free counselling:
