Wellbeing
Mental Health Peer Support for Young Women
Mental Health Peer Support for Young Women

      Wellbeing

      Wellbeing is a holistic concept that takes into account all aspects of our lives including our mental, emotional, physical and social needs. Mental wellbeing includes our ability to manage stress and anxiety, involves having a positive self-image and having a sense of purpose and meaning.

      We can promote our physical wellbeing through good nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate rest, while social wellbeing relates to our relationships with others, involves feeling connected and supported as well as being able to contribute to society in a meaningful way. The resources on this page have been compiled by the young women who co-designed this website.

      We acknowledge that not every resource will be suitable for everyone, but we hope you find some of them helpful. Contact us if you have any resources you would like included here.

      Physical exercise for mental health & wellbeing...

      Why exercise?

      The video looks at how exercise affects mental health, specifically for the adult and elderly populations.

      Yoga

      Here's a list of some free online yoga classes:

      yogawithadriene.com

      Meditation

      YouTube has some great resources to help you develop your meditation practice. You can start here:

      Affirmations and journalling for mental health & wellbeing...

      Daily Affirmations

      "I am at peace with my body and accept it as it is. It was created to do amazing things."

      Affirmations can be a wonderful way to support your mental health. You can check out some great ones here, and we would love to to hear yours if you would like to share!

      Take me there

      Online Journalling

      Journalling can be such a useful practice to support your mental health and wellbeing.

      We have some great options to share with you:

      Learn More

      Paper Journalling

      Writing a journal can be a helpful tool in managing your mental health.

      Have a go with this fantastic resource from theholisticpsychologist.com.

      Start  Healing with the Future Self Journal

      Crafting for mental health & wellbeing...

      Some of the young women in our survey and later in our focus groups told us that doing craft and hobbies helped their wellbeing.

      Here are some research papers which support that idea:

      Mental Health and Women | Shania Clark

      Shania has a deep passion for mental health that stems from personal experience and seeing others around her struggle with mental health and addictions. Shania does most of her advocacy and volunteer work with the Canadian charity Jack.org, and is involved in a variety of their programming. Shania was born and raised in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and is an indigenous woman from the Dog Rib Rae band. She is a currently in her fourth year of her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Aurora College. She has a deep passion for mental health that stems from personal experience and seeing others around her struggle with mental health and addictions. Shania does most of her advocacy and volunteer work with the Canadian charity Jack.org, and is involved in a variety of their programming. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

      ​‘I have some friends who are experiencing mental health difficulties and I have explained to them ways that have helped me through my journey and that has encouraged them to reach out to more help from a professional or try different coping techniques such as exercise, trying new hobbies, being creative, journaling and finding maybe another way that works for them as everyone is different…’

      A safe space for everyone

      This website has been developed with young women from different backgrounds in mind.

      The website and the resources within it aim to be inclusive of all people who identify as women or as non-binary. This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, people who have a disability, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, women from diverse cultures and social positions. ​

      The website has been created using the vision and ideas of young women who participated in a participatory action research project to explore the value of online mental health peer support for young women. They said that they wanted support for their mental health and wellbeing by connecting to and with other young women who have experienced similar challenges to theirs. These often include gender inequality and discrimination, including gendered violence and the trauma that can follow.

      ​We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where this project took place. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging and celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. We acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. ​

      'It's a very Aboriginal thing to do, to give younger people greater responsibilities within the community as they become able to take those responsibilities on. It is a culturally appropriate transfer of roles that involves respect in both directions...from the younger to the older and the older to the younger'
      Jackie Huggins

      Photos are like eyes with a memory

      What does mental wellbeing look like for you?

      Over to you ...

      We would love you to share any images you have created that show what mental wellbeing looks like for you.

      These images will be shared with our online community in a gallery on this website.

      If you like, there is an option for you to add some words to help explain your image... but you may prefer to just let your image tell the story!

      In the first stage of this project, our participants identified some of the structural factors underpinning mental ill-health and told us what helped them and their peers.

      Here's what they said...

      "The mental health care system is a minefield and often is more of a hinderance than a help…mental health treatment is very expensive and often inaccessible."
      "In a patriarchal society women should be receiving far greater services…increasing these services not only would mean that more women would seek help, but it destigmatises these issues."
      "I know that having someone listen non-judgementally and holding space for someone else’s big emotions is one of the best things you can do for others."
      "I have been able to encourage and relate to younger people with similar issues in regard to depression as I know what they are going through. They can also see through me that they can get better, and this isn’t how it’s going to be forever. That’s a massive thing for someone who is depressed as the illness takes away hope and can leave a person feeling stuck and like this will never get better…"
      "Online information is always helpful as it helps to understand what’s going on and know that others have been there and do get better…"

      "Some struggles are very unique to women and especially those from certain backgrounds…
      I’m straight and Caucasian but it would be good to have support for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and also Aboriginal women so they can feel safe and supported by peers and get specific information that can help them best..."

      "There is a real sense of ’sisterhood’ and caring for each other that comes when women are allowed the space to support each other. I think that women supporting women in an online space can only be a good thing…"

        Peer-to-peer Lived Experiences
        & Support Organisations

        We have created a directory of resources for you.
        Take me there