Over the last year, our daily lives have changed significantly due to the global COVID-19 health crisis. As a result of increased anxiety levels, and restrictions to our routines and movements, mental health concerns are on the increase and are expected to have long-term impact. So World Mental Health Day, 10 October, is an ideal time to remember the importance of looking after yourself, asking the question R U OK? and seeking help from family and friends, health professionals or even the community.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided this valuable list of tips and advice to help with looking after our mental health. One useful tip is to make time for doing things we enjoy, such as listening to music. Professor Brydie Bartleet, Director of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre and Deputy Director Research at the Conservatorium, agrees:
There’s a lot of really interesting research that’s happening right now, and in the context of COVID, of course, we’ve seen beautiful examples across the world of people using music to connect with one another. You might have seen the clips from balconies in Spain and Italy, with people singing out to one another when they’re locked in their units and unable to communicate with others in any other way. And I think those are really powerful ways of music not only expressing what people are feeling but forming that connection when there is so much anxiety and stress. Of course, we know that music brings enormous health and well-being benefits as well as those individual benefits where you feel physically better when you sing and make music and also connect with one another.
WHO: The Big Event for Mental Health
This World Mental Health Day, for the first time ever, WHO will host a global online advocacy event on mental health: the Big Event for Mental Health. World leaders, mental health experts and celebrity guests will join WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to tell the world what we can all do to improve our mental health and how we can help make sure that quality mental health care is available to everyone who needs it. You can learn more and tune in from one of WHO’s social media channels.
Griffith supporting mental health and wellbeing
Griffith is committed to providing an inclusive, supportive environment that promotes positive mental health and wellbeing for all members of our university community. Learn more about our missions and strategic goals around wellbeing and mental health.
You can also discover the broad range of research being conducted at Griffith to address mental health through the open access research on Griffith Research Online.
