A lot can happen in a year, a month, a week. Whether it’s your friend, family member, colleague, partner, or teammate, the people you care about go through life’s ups and downs every day.
By having regular, meaningful conversations, you build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when the people in your world find themselves struggling, they know you’re someone they can talk to.
So while R U OK? Day on Thursday September 12 is a National Day of Action, we encourage you to Ask R U OK? Any Day of the year because a conversation could change a life.
Uniting AgeWell recognises the need to keep talking about mental health with the people we support and our staff.
It is essential that we are mindful of the importance of checking in on “ourselves” and others every day.
Small moments that make a difference
Some colleagues may be less inclined to share personal information at work. It is important to know that by noticing small changes in them and offering help, we could make a difference to someone else. This is a strong reason to be aware and ask if a work mate is OK?
We are reminded of the four steps to a conversation that could change a life:
- Ask R U OK?
- Listen
- Encourage action
- Check in
Darryl’s Story
Darryl is a Home Care customer and became part of the award-winning Talking Mental Health project when Home Care Worker Anthony noticed a change in him. Darryl, was professionally supported by our home care worker, Anthony and the care team in the office. Having set goals and benchmarks, Darryl's mental health and wellbeing are progressively improving. Watch Daryl’s story here.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework.
In 2023, we launched Uniting AgeWell’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act and it influences how we handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices.
The Framework recommends three steps to maintaining positive mental wellbeing.
- Prevention – promoting wellbeing, information and identifying concerns
- Treatment – social workers, chaplains, referring to mental health specialists