Mental Health Awareness Month (pt 3)

Hailey + Vincent

How you can seek help in HK

There are a variety of local services that support mental health in HK:

Open Up (www.openup.hk) provides online chat support
The Clinical Psychological Service of the Social Welfare Department: +852 2343-2255
Shall We Talk (shallwetalk.hk): a mental health promotion and public education initiative launched by the Advisory Committee on Mental Health
Suicide prevention hotline (the Samaritans): +852 28960000
English Emotional Support Hotline (the Samaritan Befrienders): +852 23892223 (English-only)
DSE Hotline (The HK Federation of Youth Groups): 27771122 (Cantonese-only)
Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre: +852 18288
HK Red Cross Psychological Support Service: https://www.redcross.org.hk/en/covid_pss.html

Furthermore, if you are going through periods of compulsory isolation, HKU Wellcation (https://wellcation.csrp.hku.hk/) has tips and resources on how to stay strong.

Finally, according to the NHS, doing the following can help you improve your mental wellbeing:

Social interaction: can help increase your sense of self-worth whilst providing a platform of emotional support for both you and others
Exercising: evidence has shown that exercise causes chemical changes in your brain that are likely to boost your mood, motivation, and your cardiovascular health
Improving / learning new skills: gives you a sense of purpose and helps raise self-esteem and resilience
Giving to others: cultivates positive feelings and gives you and others an aim - to help others!
Being mindful: living in the present and not worrying about the future enhances self-awareness, making many more calm and reflective. It can help you understand yourself better.

Let’s all take action

What should you do?

Do not discriminate against those going through hard times; instead, be supportive to and try to help them (financially, mentally, or physically)
Simply listen and concentrate on someone’s needs
Stay connected with others - constantly reach out to them every time policies change etc.
Make the use of technology to stay connected with close ones
Find your online resources to help yourself and others (AHA, MHA, Mind HK, etc. have a lot of free resources you can sign up for)

Volunteering

Volunteering is also an invaluable way to support mental health in HK - offering the chance to make a difference, empowering both yourself and others. Some organizations you can help out at include:

Hong Kong Mental Health Foundation https://hkmhf.org/be-a-volunteer/?lang=en

Mind HK Organization https://www.mind.org.hk/get-involved/

KELY Support Group https://kely.org/get-involved/volunteering

CoolMinds HK https://www.coolmindshk.com/en/volunteer-fundraise/

Hands On HK https://www.handsonhongkong.org/project-calendar

Sources (For all three parts)

May is National Mental Health Month - Youth.Gov

https://youth.gov/feature-article/may-national-mental-health-month#:~:text=Mental%20Health%20Month%20was%20established,celebrate%20recovery%20from%20mental%20illness.

Mentalhealth.gov: Home - MentalHealth.gov

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

School of Social Work: About Garrett Lee Smith - Monmouth University

https://www.monmouth.edu/school-of-social-work/community-programs-and-lectures/promoting-wellness-resiliency/about-garrett-lee-smith/