Chemmat was fortunate to have psychiatrist Dr Jane Casey accept our invitation to give a seminar to our students and staff on Thursday, 10 October to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

Jane’s talk was targeted towards PhD students and gave strategies about how to manage stress and recognise when you’re feeling stressed or burnt out. We were reminded that everybody has a role to play in creating an environment that supports good mental health.

Strategies and resources:

E-health programs

  • Mood Gym is a cognitive behaviour therapy program for preventing and coping with depression (developed by the National Institute for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University).
  • This Way Up provides online learning programs, education and research in anxiety and depressive disorders (developed by St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney).
  • myCompass interactive self-help program aims to help people gain control of stress or anxiety (developed by the Black Dog Institute).

Videos

  • How to make stress your friend (TED talk)
    Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.
  • Why we all need to practice emotional first aid (TED talk)
    Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says psychologist Guy Winch. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.

Take home messages:

  • Take 40 seconds each day to be kind to someone
  • Make 40 seconds each day to reflect on your wellbeing
  • Break 40 seconds each day and do abdominal breathing

Information can be found at www.calm.auckland.ac.nz on mental resilience, such as developing positive mind states and practical techniques for developing positive mind states.

Other contacts:

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