Taking care of your mental health is one of the most important investments you can make for yourself, but it’s often overlooked until problems become overwhelming.
Celebrating R U OK? Day has become an annual tradition for us at YellowBridge. Every September a group of our wellness volunteers get together to decorate our work spaces and provide a wonderful breakfast to bring our team together, foster connection and raise awareness as well as much needed funds to support mental health services. While R U OK? Day serves as a helpful reminder to check in with others, it’s vital to ensure that support for mental health happens in the everyday choices we make to prioritise our own emotional wellbeing and to create supportive environments for those around us.
Taking care of your mental health is one of the most important investments you can make for yourself, but it’s often overlooked until problems become overwhelming. Mental health isn’t just the absence of mental illness, it’s about developing resilience, emotional balance, and the capacity to navigate through life’s inevitable challenges with greater ease.
Similar to maintaining physical fitness, building good mental health habits requires consistent, intentional effort. Including activities into your routine like regular exercise or practicing mindfulness and meditation is vital, however so are activities like sustaining social connections that provide support and belonging, ensuring adequate sleep, and maintaining a healthy diet.
Your mental wellbeing affects every aspect of your life – your relationships, work performance, physical health, and overall quality of life. R U OK? Day serves as a vital reminder that mental health conversations shouldn’t be confined to designated awareness periods, but rather woven into the fabric of our daily interactions. This simple question, “Are you okay?”, carries profound power in its simplicity and genuine concern for human wellbeing. Don’t be afraid to ask it more often, not just of others, but of yourself as well.
By Adrian Bonica, Chief Executive Officer