Mental Health & Wellness Committee
By Diane Donaher, Committee Chair
As we get ready to enjoy the new growth of flowers and trees (unless you have allergies!) it’s an opportunity to think about how being outside in nature can really help us deal with anxiety and other mental health challenges.
Spotify has launched the Take a Beat campaign, redefining how we use music for mental wellness. This initiative encourages users to take mindful pauses with curated playlists, designed to uplift and calm. By integrating music into daily routines, listeners find a source of comfort and resilience. It’s a simple yet powerful way to help individuals hit pause and reconnect with themselves! It takes just a minute to download: https://open.spotify.com/genre/0JQ5DAqbMKFI0dU3sFNssi
And for a more aggressive (and funny!) mental health and wellness message, here’s a commercial from ASICS featuring Succession actor Brian Cox, emphasizing the powerful connections between movement and mental wellness – don’t be a slave to your desk! Just 15 minutes of activity can help reverse the negative effects of prolonged sitting, fostering better mental and physical health. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBu3T-eLH1U
May is Mental Health Awareness month. Spend some time this month finding a resource, speaker or video that has inspired you on your mental health and wellness journey to share with your club members. Have someone from your school district come in to talk about how young people are handling their mental health issues or someone from the county office to share resources available to all ages. Or maybe you plan a group walk in nature in place of a club meeting. The World Wildlife Federation has a “Prescription for Nature.” Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBu3T-eLH1U&t=60s