Why I Attend Self Care & Mental Health Events

Dealing with Mental Health can sometimes make you feel like you’re the only one going through it. It can be extremely isolating. Blogging and attending events specifically addressing self care and mental health has helped me understand that I am not alone. 

Writing individual blog posts on events can be difficult, especially when I want them to be useful. If I feel like I don’t have enough points from the event then I will put off dedicating a whole blog post to it. I decided that I still wanted to speak on the last few events that I have been to. So I have put together one post that summarises the information that has been shared at the past few events I attended. 

Just some of the business cards I’ve picked up from events

 

Why do I attend self care & Mental Health events?

The main reason is to be around people I can relate to. It is easier to build relationships with people you can relate to and it is a great way to discover what services are out there for us.

Attending self care and mental health events allows me to gain some more knowledge and understanding. There is so much I wasn’t taught and so many things I didn’t understand before. After attending several events, networking and listening to other’s experiences, I have a better level of understanding.

I also love being able to support friends. These events are normally organised by people I know. I respect their work. Being able to support their events is important. 

Self Care & Mental Health Events

Fempire : Self Care & Sisterhood PJ Party

 

This was such a chilled out event. Good vibes throughout the evening. We had discussions about; self care routines, the affect social media can have on our mental health, and sisterhood.

Cupcakes by: Dimpleboycupcakes

It was interesting to hear some of the ways women practise self care. Some women shared that they don’t check their phone for at least an hour after waking up. Meditation and yoga was mentioned as well. One of the ladies suggested having a red and green book and writing down all the bad things that had happened that day in the red book and tearing the page out and disposing of it. Then writing all the good things in the green book. 

Left-Right; Whitney Abigail, Ewa Kolodziejska, Kristabel Plummer & Emma Segal. Angelica Louise (Founder) hosting.

Black Girl Festival : Mental Health Panel

Guilaine Kinouani, Grace Victory (Host), Munroe Bergdorf, Laura Kirwan-Ashman, Danielle Dash & Tobi Oredein

 

There was so much information shared on this panel. One of the events I gained the most from, as it was from the voices of black British women in the creative industry.

Have a diary, have a self care routine, be kind to yourself daily and reach out to people.

Recognise the voice inside you – Pay attention; are you tired? Is there something stopping you from seeing a friend? 

Learn the language – Learning the terms and names make it easier to manage your mental health. 

Trauma – Guilaine Kinouani made a really good point, something that got me thinking. “Whatever is happening in society and our communities from the point of birth onwards can contribute to trauma”. 

Being aware of your race or class and the oppression your community faces has an effect on your mental health. Which is why the conversation about black mental health is so important, it’s not just the topic of mental health, it’s about how your race contributes to your mental health. A lot of the time the two cannot be separated. The trauma black people have been exposed cannot be ignored.

All work no play – Working hard without a choice has effects on our emotional well being. There are way too many people working long unsociable hours just to be able to keep the roofs over their heads. The way our world works especially in this country is madness. Work doesn’t have to be physically strenuous in order for it to affect your well being. You can be emotionally and mentally overworked as well. Unstable housing, as well as all other levels of societal issues contribute. Every part of society needs improving in order to improve our mental health.

Adzvice : Let’s Talk  

 

Adzvice Let’sTalk event was different to the other events I have been to. It was the women’s session, so it was based around our experiences. However there was some really personal and powerful stories and experiences shared. Moments that made me feel a whole host of emotions, this event was on a deeper level. I found myself nodding along to Nunya, agreeing with so much of what she said.

 

“Mental health doesn’t wait for you to have it all together” – Nunya 

 

Photography by; Lolly Comms

Adzvice Let’s Talk event explored what we classify as a quarter-life crisis and we spoke about our experiences.

The positives and negatives that comes with social media. Social media has allowed us to access so much more information, we have been able to run businesses through social media and meet great people.
Everything has to be in moderation, social media works really fast and our brains aren’t used to that much activity in such a short space of time. Growing up our social media usage was minimal or non-existent. To go from that to instagram and twitter can be a mentally exhausting transition.

Connect With Me: Instagram ● Twitter ● Facebook