It is Mental Health Week!
The 2022 theme for Mental Health Week is EMPATHY. We often hear about the importance of empathy, in our personal relationships, in schools and workplaces. What is empathy? Empathy is simply the ability to understand how someone feels because you can imagine what it is like to be them. What does empathy look like? When speaking with someone experiencing a challenge, to show empathy you can: consider what you know about them and be willing to learn more, not rush to judgement, listen attentively without offering solutions, resist the urge to interrupt and share your personal experience, focus on understanding how the person feels and why they feel that way, and take time to reflect before responding.
Imagine all the conflict we are currently experiencing – both at home and abroad – and how empathy is the antidote. Empathy is overwhelmingly correlated to compassionate, prosocial, less aggressive and helping behaviour. In adolescent friendships, higher levels of empathy are associated with better conflict management and conflict resolution. Imagine the recent local and international tragedies that could have been prevented by empathy. Empathy is a powerful tool.
This week, practice your empathy skills. Visit www.mentalhealthweek.ca for info and tools about CMHA Mental Health Week.
Connect on social media using the hashtags #GetReal and #MentalHealthWeek.
May also marks the one year anniversary of our website! We are so proud of our ‘new’ site and how it continues to grow and reach more and more of you. Huge thanks to Cutting Edge Digital Marketing for all you do for us!
