Mind matters

Mental health issues are real. If you find yourself struggling with acute stress, tension, anxiety or depression, do not wait until you can't handle it any longer. It's time to seek professional help, or take action to improve your health. Here are a few resources to guide you.

Online Wellness Platforms

- In times of crisis, continue to look after yourself and make sure you are well aware of your feelings, emotions and mental well-being. This will help to lower your chances of anxiety and burnout. But if you're starting to experience physical anxiety symptoms, check out tips and strategies concerning mental health on Shapers Covid Wiki. It's an online platform created by Global Shapers Community, a network of young people below the age of 30 working together to address local, regional and global challenges.

The website has put together functional approaches to health and wellness, guidance on food choices, and professional medical advice. You will also find information on guided meditation, mental health FAQs answered by medical professionals, and a webinar page that provides information on interesting virtual events and podcasts being hosted around the world.

"Global Shapers Community was created for youth to have a stake in creating a better world and future. Right now there is a lot of information out there about different ways to take care of ourselves. We got so overwhelmed by the amount of information that we decided to create Shapers Covid Wiki. We want it to be a place for the public to visit and get useful information on nutrition, physical and mental health, as well as parenting during the lockdown," says Amorn Sachamuneewongse, curator for Global Shapers Bangkok.

Visit www.shaperswiki.com.

- If you find yourself struggling with emotional abuse, Mindful Self-Compassion Thailand offers free online self-compassion workshops that are designed specifically for health professionals, who are charged with caring for others during this crisis. In addition, guided meditation sessions and "Pandemic Resilience" workshops are available to the public, to help cultivate courage and calmness. There is also a course that guides you through mindful practices, which takes eight weeks to complete and costs B15,000.

Visit www.mscthailand.org.

- If you think that your mind slightly off-balance at the moment, consider seeking support from the team of wellness advisers, practitioners and experts at Chiva-Som International Health Resort. They are conducting online wellness services via video calls. These services include a 50-minute discussion with a naturopath, one-on-one fitness training, metabolic breathing exercises and even natural fertility consultation. Chiva-Som also offers online yoga and meditation classes led by professional instructors. The service is free of charge, but do note that all sessions need to be booked at least 24 hours in advance via email (reservation@chivasom.com) or telephone (032-536-536).

Visit www.chivasom.com/ online-wellness-services.

- Melt away your tension and relieve your stress through various meditation practices with The Hive Bangkok. They are conducting guided meditation sessions via Zoom. Each class will walk you through a series of breathing exercises and help you get comfortable with them. Check their FB page for new class schedules. In addition to that, The Hive Bangkok, together with The Hive Worldwide, has launched a series of online wellness classes, featuring wellness influencers from around the world. Classes will be broadcasted through The Hive Worldwide FB Live and Zoom. There are fixed wellness classes scheduled on weekdays, but mark your calendars and tune in to a couple of special sessions that are coming up, like hypnotherapy, to help with insomnia, on May 21, and the art of qigong on May 30.

Visit fb.com/thehivebangkok.

Helplines

- Helpline 1323 runs a 24-hour mental health hotline that provides counselling support and information. The hotline can also links callers to treatment centres that are suitable for their individual needs. Even if you don't feel like you're struggling with psychological problems, but want to gain a better understanding of your emotions, reactions and moods, the helpline provides a chatbot option via Line ID @147nzgad. There, you can take a test to measure your stress levels and receive useful guidance on how to cope with unpleasant feelings and anxiety.

Visit fb.com/helpline1323.

- The Samaritans of Thailand operates a callback service to provide emotional support for people who think they are at risk of harming themselves, as well as others who are dealing with mental health issues. The service can be requested by giving one's phone number to the Samaritans via FB Messenger. Someone from a team of volunteers will call back shortly (usually within a few hours). However, once the curfew is lifted, Samaritans will resume operating its usual hotline, which is available every day from noon to 10pm, with the ability to handle calls in Thai and English. Contact 02-713-6793 for Thai and 02-713-6791 for English.

Visit fb.com/Samaritans.Thailand.

- Thailand's Psychiatric Association provides a support line to healthcare workers and citizens who are struggling with mental health issues. The helpline, which is operated by mental health specialists, is available from 10am-10pm. Individuals can contact them by calling one of these seven numbers: 063-474-0061--5, 095-710-1431 or 095-182-8153. If the lines are busy, one can leave his/her number, to be responded to later, via Line @898TVZQW.

Visit fb.com/ThaiPsychiatricAssociation.

Counselling Services

The mental wellness social initiative, ooca: Wall of Sharing Project aims to help university students who suffer from anxiety, to cope with the overwhelming stress that can accumulate during this period. The project offers free counselling services from a team of psychiatrists and psychologists, via FB Messenger. Students can send messages to bit.ly/msgfbwos and start chatting. In addition, the project provides free online consultation services via video call to The Freedom Story and students from participating universities: Suranaree University of Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Mahidol University, University of Phayao, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University and Thammasat University. If you want to support the project, make a donation via taejai.com/wallofsharing. Every B470 raised will help one student to get a free video consulting session.

Visit www.wallofsharing.com.

- Talkmoment provides free individual counselling and emotional support to help one deal with many personal stumbling blocks in life, such as depression, anger, physical pain and marriage and relationship problems. The service is available from 9am-8pm, via various online platforms, including Line and Skype.

Send a message to Talkmoment on FB Messenger with your query. You will be matched with a counsellor that fits your needs and schedule the required counselling sessions on an online platform that you're comfortable with. Talkmoment also hosts small support group gatherings led by a counsellor every Saturday night and free online workshops that are designed to improve active listening and effective questioning skills, via Zoom. There are limited spots available for each session, therefore advance reservation is required. Book at bit.ly/2z2eBpJ for group-gatherings and bit.ly/2KJIXjH for online workshops.

When asked about the project, Talkmoment said, "We are a team of enthusiastic and proactive psychologists and counsellors. The purpose of Talkmoment is to serve people who need this service and those who are interested in moving forward and improving themselves. We hope to help people grow more resilient and assist them to live a meaningful life. We want to present counselling for all."

Visit fb.com/talkmoment.

Experts' tips on staying well

"Don't shy away from talking about how you feel. Covid-19 is bringing everyone together to stand up for one another and to elevate one another. This is the time for you to speak up and ask for help if you need it. More importantly, surround yourself with positive people, friends and ask for their support. Be open to communicate and connect with your community. You are not alone."

— Sabina Ahuja, holistic therapy specialist and founder of Journey To Love website.

"Good nutrition is vital for health, particularly in times such as these, when your immune system might need to fight back. Always try to make sure that you are consuming a healthy, balanced diet, which supplies the body with sufficient nutrients to carry out routine tasks. For optimal health, it is also important to remain physically active. I recommend 30 minutes a day, four or five days a week (at least) of strength training exercises and cardio."

— Dr Priya Khorana, founder & CEO of Lifestyle Nutrition Consulting Co Ltd.

"Each of us has to nourish our inner calm and nurture our connections with ourselves and others so that we will have the courage and flexibility to adapt to this completely new and uncontrollable situation. It's very challenging for people to adapt to sudden changes that they can't control. This is normal. Being kind and supportive to ourselves, like we're kind to our friends, helps build our resilience and recharges our inner resources."

— Benjamin Weinstein, clinical psychologist and teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion.

"Self-care should be fun. Do it your way. Your body is always giving you messages of the best self-care you need for the day. It could be sleeping in, watching Netflix and working out hard the next day. Or it could be painting or dancing like no one else is watching. Tune in and listen to what your body needs. There is no rule, no package fits all."

— Areena Narang, intuitive counsellor of Soulful Healing Journey.

"I would advise everyone to keep up with your immune system. You don't have to get out of your way to buy expensive medication or immune boosters. Make sure you do three things right: get an adequate amount of sleep, get enough nutrition in your diet and make sure your mood is being kept well. These are the three pillars of health."

— Dr Naeem Dalal from Lusaka Global Shaper and public health chairperson of the Zambia Medical Association.

"During times of stress, pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Engage in healthy activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly, keep regular sleep routines and eat healthy food. Keep things in perspective."

— The World Health Organization on mental health and psychosocial considerations.