At BeeBio our focus isn't on beauty – for us it's all about the health of your skin – and health starts from the inside. With World Health Day upon us, we wanted to give the opportunity for people in our community to share with us what they will be focusing on during World Health Day, and we received this great feedback from Bridget Copeland, a Christchurch Counsellor about mental health in Christchurch.
"First of all thank you to the BeeBio team for looking after my health and giving me this opportunity to voice my concerns on Christchurch’s mental health. World Health Day for me is a time to reflect on Christchurch and the challenges that are still ahead of us, especially our mental health system.
I work for Stepping Stone Trust as a community support worker, and we support people that are still struggling with anxiety, isolation and addictions, due to the trauma they experienced during the earthquakes and aftershocks.
I am a positive person and embrace change, but 90% of people struggle with change. Christchurch is changing on a daily basis, as we rebuild our beautiful city. Lots of people are still sitting in limbo, overwhelmed with the paperwork, what to do and where to begin, as this is in the too hard basket.
Please neighbors, support those that are alone, especially if you have been through the process. Communication is important, stop judging and take time to smile and have a chat.
It was wonderful to see how the community pulled together after the event. Some people have had new homes built and are happy with life, while others are still in broken homes, under-insured, and suffering deeply with the grief of everything they knew. We all cope with grief differently. Some are more resilient, others isolate, self medicate, self harm or even take their life. Statistics show that alcohol consumption has increased dramatically. Alcohol is a depressant, but it’s socially accepted as it is legal, never mind all the illegal drugs that are freely available, especially to our youth.
Life is so precious, and as a community we need to embrace everyone, ask the hard questions and give each other hope. Hope is the key! There is always a solution, but when you are in that dark place it is very hard to see your way out. It only takes one person to show an interest, offer hope and support. It is not about doing things for each other, it is walking alongside and empowering each other when we are struggling. Christchurch, I have faith in you and live in hope that adequate funding is distributed to support our mental health system, so that workers can embrace their calling and be that hope to our community.
Thank you."
Bridget Copeland (BSW) – Christchurch Counsellor
If you would like to share what's important to you on World Health Day, please leave a comment below – we'd love to hear your thoughts.
Take care!