“Journey to Wellbeing”

By Manjula

The room filled up quickly, some knew each other, some meeting for the first time, men and women of all ages. The ladies wearing shades of green were the ladies from Tamil Women’s Development Group (TWDG) and Haathi in the Room (HIR). Some of the attendees also arrived wearing green the colour theme advertised for Journey to Wellbeing. Julie Owens MP for Parramatta and Julia Finn MP for Granville, print and radio media representatives and medical practitioners also were present.

TWDG together with HIR presented “Journey to Wellbeing” on Saturday 4 May at Parramatta RSL from 1.30-5.00pm with all net proceeds donated to Beyond Blue a charity that works to reduce stigma attached to mental illness and raise awareness about depression, anxiety and suicide prevention.

This event was a call to the South Asian community in Sydney to join an important conversation about mental health to promote the overall health and wellbeing of the community. Based on research evidence that indicated the need for mental health awareness advocacy in the South Asian community “Journey to Wellbeing” isa unique mental health promotion initiative, the second of such collaborations by TWDG and HIR, designed to raise awareness, combat stigma and address issues specific to the community.

The keynote speaker of the day,Joe Lander Artist in Residence, Macquarie University, Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology presented “Portraits of Recovery” a series of portraits of male subjects who are on the road to recovery from mental health issues. This is an academic project that blurred the boundaries between the arts and mental health research. Mr Lander spoke about his own struggle with mental illness and the need for support and understanding in society in general for those challenged by mental health issues. He had one of his large canvases on display and brought along with him the subject of that portrait, Daniel Di Fluri. Mr Lander explained the journey he had taken to produce the series of paintings and showed slides of his other portraits. The range of ages, professions and cultural backgrounds of his sitters demonstrated clearly that mental illness does not discriminate. There were poignant stories attached to each portrait and the last one he showed that of a 14-year-oldboy moved many. What was made clear in this presentation was that like physical conditions like diabetes, mental illness required ongoing management and care and support not only by therapists and medical practitioners but most importantly by family, friends and society at large.

DanielDi Fluri also spoke about his struggles and the difficulties he encountered as a person with mental illness and the challenges he still faces to speak openly about it to people around him due to the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

At the end of Mr Landers’ presentation audience members asked questions about what the sitters felt when being painted and how that impacted their wellbeing. Mr Lander said that all his sitters had found it a positive experience and they found some relief sharing their story when being painted and this helped in the healing process. If the artist would consider continuing the series with female subjects was also raised and Mr Lander answered that even being here at this event was never envisaged when he started this project and there was always room for it to grow further.

Sharing “Portraits of Recovery” at “Journey to Wellbeing” had achieved TWDG’s and HIR’s intention that through these artworks and the stories within, conversations about the attitude to mental health and the stigma surrounding it had been initiated.

The sombre and thought-provoking nature of the previous speaker’s subject matter was very gently shifted to a meditative mood with an interlude of music played by school student Jathushan Jeyarasa, a beautiful rendition on the reed flute.

The next speaker Cecille Sy an ambassador for Beyond Blue shared her lived experiencewith mental health issues. Her presentation highlighted the stressors that migrants encounter moving to Australia and the added layer of cultural and family expectations that impact mental health that many from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities face. Her story would have resonated with the audience who would have experienced similar migrant stories.

The final segment at “Journey to Wellbeing” was and interactive workshop on Resilience and Stress Management in the Workplaceby Mary McNamara from Wesley Mission. A simple but effective take home self-care message from this workshop was recognising ANTs in our lives – Automatic Negative Thoughts, and how to challenge and contradict them and to inculcate mindfulness practices into daily life to help build resilience.

This workshop was followed by a short meditation session when all took part in a simple breathing exercise that they could be used when stressed or at any time to calm themselves. This was followed by a fun filled auction and a raffle draw.

The formal proceedings ended, and people mingled over finger food and beverages. Many were heard discussing the various aspects of the evening with the realisation that an open dialogue and sharing stories had the potential to de-stigmatise mental health issues which was essential to improve the health and wellbeing of the community.

TWDG

The Tamil Women’s Development Group (TWDG) aims to empower women in the areas of health, social and economic well­being. Formed in 2012, TWDG contributes to the development of the Tamil community with focus on women and the capacity building of the community.

Email:TamilWDG@gmail.com

Damayanthy Umasaran: 0418 160 763

Facebook: www.facebook.com/twdgsydney

Instagram: @tamil.womens.development.group 

HIR

Haathi in the Room came about as an initiative to challenge the stigma and create awareness about mental illnesswithin the South Asian community. The name “Haathi (elephant) in the room” refers to mental illness regarded as the elephant in the room – an issue people are aware of but afraid to talk about.

Email:Haathiintheroom90@gmail.com

Sue Advani: 0417 210 268

Facebook: https://facebook.com/haathiintheroom/