October is Way Ahead’s Mental Health Month. This is a topic we take very seriously at Clicks, therefore we decided to get involved for the benefit of our broader community.
Way Ahead are an organisation based in New South Wales who work every day to educate people on mental health and wellbeing, linking them to services and resources to improve their wellbeing.
Mental Health Month gives us an opportunity to raise awareness around mental health and wellbeing. Way Ahead provide a roadmap of ideas and events for organisations across Australia to promote positive mental health action. Mental Health Month events can be fun, thought-provoking, creative, engaging, sporty, and interesting.
This years Mental Health Month theme is Tune In. Tuning in means being aware of what is happening within you, and in the world around you. Being present by tuning in has been shown to help build self-awareness, help make effective choices, reduce the impact of worry and build connections. You can tune in to many things:
- Tune in to yourself – What can you sense right now? What can you feel?
- Tune in to others – What might people around you be feeling? How can we connect?
- Tune in to your communities – What is happening that you can be part of, or that you can help others be part of?
- Tune in to stigma – How do attitudes and understandings of mental health and wellbeing impact on people’s ability to live the lives they want? How can we help?
Mental illness is an issue facing the Australian community that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 in 5 Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any given year. Furthermore, 54% of Australians with mental illness do not access any treatment.
By highlighting the issue, raising awareness, linking services/resources and promoting positive mental health, we can all do our part to help those around us who may be suffering.
At Clicks we continuously promote positive physical and mental health – we take them very seriously!
Our award-winning weekly Wellness Matters program has been an excellent addition to our community. Each week we write about a topic from fitness – to food – to sleep– to houseplants! Anything that can bring a positive change to the lives of our readers.
We also emphasise healthy working guidelines for our Clicks staff. Flexible working practices (i.e. part-time, early finish, longer lunch for exercise in the sun) allow our team to build a healthy work-life balance.
Additionally, we have partnered with Medibank to hold regular events, and we provide offers and discounts that are incredibly positive for mental health!
This month at Clicks, we followed the theme Way Ahead have put forward, creating a calendar (below) of fun activities, events and content that will help to promote positive mental health.
Some of the fun events and activities we will be incorporating are:
- Clicks Hundred: We are holding our very own version of Channel 9’s The Hundred game show. We’ve polled all Clicksters on a series of random funny and silly questions, and 3 members of our Executive Leadership Group will compete to show they know their staff the best!
- Skribble! Clicksters will be coming together (virtually of course!) to play Skribbl! It’s a multiplayer drawing and guessing game (think Pictionary but online).
- Feel Good Photos: Our team are tasked with submitting a photo of something they’ve seen that week that brought them joy / made them smile.
Each week our Wellness Matters articles will be centered around mental health. The content themes will be:
- Mental Health Month Special Edition: An overview of the month ahead.
- Exercise For the Mind: How exercise can positively impact our mental health, and building a routine.
- Harnessing the Power of Positive Messages: How we can all learn to harness the power of positive messages to have a beneficial impact on our lives.
- How Great are Pets? The benefits pets provide in reducing stress/anxiety while increasing happiness (and a great excuse to show off some of our pets!).
Make sure to stay tuned in to our social pages and Wellness Matters content this month to keep up to date with out Mental Health Month progress.
Check out the Way Ahead site to learn more and see what other businesses are doing.
We’d love to hear about what your organisation are doing for Mental Health Month! Get in touch with us at marketing@clicks.com.au.
Sam Ford-Bennetts
– Content and Account Coordinator
