Connect with people for good mental health: Experts

Want to be happy and have a positive mental health? Connect with your folks, your traditions, history or language and learn to give and contribute to the society. Any kind of contribution to the society will surely become a major source of positive mental health. This is the message given by Dr Rafia Ghubash, UAE's first woman psychiatrist, to around 50 students, faculty and staff members of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medical and Health Sciences (MBRU) where the Emirates Society for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Escam) hosted talks and activities to raise awareness on mental health issues.
After giving a presentation on her career of psychiatry at a time when not many people knew what it was, Dr Ghubash spoke extensively on the importance of having a positive mental health. "The first step towards a positive mental health is to move from a person-centric approach to a people-centric approach. Through experience over the years, I have found that positive interaction and connection with people can keep you mentally healthy. Fast changes in life, living a very modern life without having any knowledge of one's own culture, language and history, leads to anxiety about future and may lead to depression. But if you have a good support of family and people you enjoy being with, and if you start helping contribute to the society in any way, then you can overcome depression, even without medication. So connect with people and not gadgets for a good mental health."
Following the talk, Escam gave out prizes for its mental health awareness competition where MBRU students were asked to make a short video on mental health awareness.
Dr Laila Al Suwaidi, assistant dean of student happiness and wellbeing, College of Medicine, MBRU, said: "MBRU's Mental Health Week activities, now in its second year, focus on the importance of being mindful. This year, we had sessions for our students and employees, such as art therapy, power yoga and an origami session. We encouraged our students to take a break from their day to attend one of the sessions with the goal of practising mindfulness."
Largest Origami attempt
The last segment was an engaging public event that saw everyone come together to make origami shapes from recycled paper. The event also saw students of MBRU attempt a Guinness World Record for making the largest cootie catcher (origami) for mental health awareness from recycled paper measuring 70cm x 70cm (length and breadth) and 1 metre and 40cm diagonally. The measurements will be submitted to the Guiness World Record team.
Dr Ammar Humaid Albanna, president of Escam and consultant, child and adolescent psychiatry at Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, said: "Our goal was to raise awareness among the society including medical students and the younger generation about mental health."
saman@khaleejtimes.com