Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW)
Monday 26 September - Sunday 2nd October 2022
Reconnect with yourself Connecting with yourself is a skill.
To start the week, begin by taking a moment to check in with yourself, acknowledge how you’re feeling and how the last few years of turbulence affected you and your connection with others and the world around you.
This is a good time to think about the people you have lost contact with who you might want to reach out to, or the special places you haven’t visited in a while, and set some whāinga/goals for the week ahead. At the end of the week, you can reflect on how you felt at the start and how reconnecting with the people and places that are special to you has lifted you up.
A few ideas for reconnecting with yourself:
- Take a moment to ask yourself, ‘how am I feeling today?’ Try speaking out loud to yourself. Hearing your thoughts out loud can help you to clarify what’s going on inside.
- Grab a pen and paper and write down three things you are grateful for. Taking time to notice and reflect on the things we are thankful for helps us to experience more positive emotions.
- Get out for a walk, do some yoga or another a physical activity that you enjoy. Moving your body can help calm your mind.
- Grab a cuppa, sit outside and listen to the sounds around you. Notice how taking a quiet moment for yourself makes you feel.
- Take a moment for your wairua by trying these Māori mindful breathing exercises.
- Be present in the moment and let your creative juices flow with our mindful colouring activity. Tamariki can enter our colouring competition for a chance to win an awesome prize!
- For tamariki in the classroom, try this ‘How Am I Doing?’ activity by Sparklers to encourage them to think about how they can support their own wellbeing. Tamariki can also use the My Pepeha activity in the classroom or at home to get them thinking about the people and places that are important to them.
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