Pressure!

Do you think we put to much pressure on ourselves.

Do you take time out for yourself?

In today's society we can very easily get caught up in the day to day grind of everything. In doing so we forget to take a deep breathe and just enjoy life. Humans tend to be quite time poor working longer hours plus traveling further to get to their jobs. Because of these and other factors we forget to take some time out for ourselves, it's either work, family, money ... The list goes on and this can lead to serious amounts of stress. Stress is such a powerful emotion which can be very detrimental to our health and can cause such health conditions like anxiety.

We all need some time to ourselves from time to time. We spend so much time trying to set up a good life for ourselves, we forget to enjoy it.

How do you like to enjoy yourself?

Below are a list of top 5 things I like to do which makes me enjoy life.

1. Playing or watching football - love my footy!

2. Spend a weekend away with my young family - it's good to get away from the hussle and bustle sometimes

3. Listen to Coldplay - I find I just tune out when listening to them

4. Sit down and enjoy watching a DVD with my wife - with a little one we don't get much time to ourselves but this is something we try and do a couple of times a month

5. Catching up with friends - always great to see friends

Hopefully it’s given you a few ideas but if not, when you are feeling overwhelmed and under pressure – take a deep breathe to help you relax – I guarantee when you start to relax – your mind will relax and you’ll be more productive at whatever you are doing.

Tristan Simmons
Healthy Living Director at Mill Park Leisure

YMCA Whittlesea Mental Health Awareness Seminar

According to BeyondBlue, 3 million Australians are currently living with Depression or Anxiety, yet some many of us don’t know much about mental health conditions or the warning signs.

On Monday 6th October YMCA Whittlesea is holding a Mental Health Awareness Seminar at Mill Park Baptist Church. It’s a FREE community event aimed at raising awareness in the community, donations would be greatly appreciated and all proceeds will go to the Black Dog Institute and YMCA Whittlesea Open Doors.

The seminar begins at 6:30pm and will conclude about 8:30pm, with two guest speakers on the night. Firstly we have Sheana from the Black Dog Institute who will talk about breaking down depression and building resilience. Following Sheana will be Dr Denise Furness who will talk about Nutrition and Exercise and how it can help reduce the symptoms of mental health conditions. At the conclusion of the guest speakers, Dr Furness will be joined on stage with Dr Amanda Lucci BMed ,MBBS to answer any questions attendees may have.

This seminar suitable for anyone who may be experiencing a mental health condition, know someone or just want more information on the subject.

Places are limited so get in early to book your spot – to book your place please email Tristan Simmons at tristan.simmons@ymca.org.au

We look forward to seeing you at this great community event.

Mental Illness – Lets raise awareness!

You would have seen in the media recently that Mitch Clark, an AFL footballer who played with the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne football club has retired from the game with clinical depression. Now everyone retires from the game at some stage in their lives but to give the game away at only 26 because of this illness is quite saddening. He had many great years ahead of him.

What I want to do by writing this article is raise awareness because 1 in 3 people will experience sort some of mental illness throughout their lives.  Sometimes we don’t realise how much of an impact this terrible illness can have on an individual yet 1 in 4 people still think anyone suffering depression and anxiety just need to snap out of it. If only it was that simple. Everyone during their lives will experience anxiety and be depressed in their everyday lives, it’s part of our emotions but it is usually for only a short period of time and we quickly regulate our emotions again to continue on with our day. For someone experiencing depression or anxiety, it can last for hours; even days and they are unable to regulate their emotions.

I think we as a community need to help raise awareness and even be more accepting of the issue because some people are so fearful of communicating their illness with others; they avoid getting help and are unable to enjoy their life. I encourage anyone who is suffering from mental illness to seek professional help and if you haven’t done so already, introduce some form of exercise into your regime, even if it is at home. Exercise is a great medicine, it helps release endorphins which is a chemical the body produces which makes us feel good about ourselves. There are many online forums which you can join to discuss your issues with people just like you.

Further information can be obtained from BeyondBlue www.beyondblue.org.au

Once again, let’s as a community raise awareness about this terrible illness because it is something that is close to my heart and I believe everyone deserves to live a happy and fulfilling life.