May 9, 2022

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/