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Helpful Resources

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Other places to find information and tips on looking after mental health and wellbeing. 

General wellbeing

Getting Through Together (Covid-19 mental health and wellbeing campaign) – All Right? and the Mental Health Foundation

Wellbeing tips – Mental Health Foundation and Getting Through Together

Self-help tools and apps – Mental Health Foundation and Getting Through Together

Having a hard time getting through? – Mental Health Foundation and Getting Through Together

Whakatau Mai | The Wellbeing Sessions – Changing Minds

Real-time resilience strategies for coping with Coronavirus – New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience

Maintaining social wellbeing in Aotearoa-New Zealand during Covid-19: Seven reasons to be hopeful – Social Wellbeing Agency

What works for you? Using sensory strategies to help people cope with challenging situations – Te Pou

The science of happiness podcast series – UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center US

Health Navigator mental health – Health Navigator NZ

Read about other New Zealander's journeys to wellbeing:

Hear how others have dealt with their depression and anxiety and how they work on staying well.

  - How We Got Happy – Hear from young Kiwis on what they do to stay healthy and stay happy.

  - Low Down – How others have dealt with their depression and anxiety and how they work on staying well.

  - Depression.org.nz – Draw strength and hope from the stories of other people.

  - Like Minds, Like Mine – Real-life stories people have gifted to us over the years.

  - Headfirst Being Men series – Rugby players speak about their mental fitness and the strategies they use.

  - Black Dog 'Be Well' podcast series – Sharing inspiration through the words of people with a lived experience.

Supporting yourself and others

Checking In: supporting someone who may be experiencing depression and/or anxiety – Le Va (in English, Samoan, Tongan, and Cook Island languages)

Navigating through the ways of emotion: Anxiety – Le Va (in English, Samoan, Tongan, and Cook Island languages)

Navigating through the waves of emotion: Depression – Le Va (in English, Samoan, Tongan, and Cook Island languages)

Having suicidal thoughts during Covid-19 and Personal safety plan – Mental Health Foundation

Whānau 

Sparklers at Home – All Right?

Parenting Guides – All Right?

Learning from home wellbeing guide – Ministry of Education

#CatchYourself: Respect your Bubble – Le Va

S.K.I.P – New Zealand Government

Māori 

Te Waioratanga – All Right?

Hikitia Te Hā – All Right?

Protect our Whakapapa – Te Puni Kokiri

Hei Puāwaitanga mo tātou Katoa: Flourishing for all in Aotearoa – a creative and meaningful conversation to explore a Māori world view of Flourishing – Mental Health Foundation 

Te Putahi Māori worldview webinar series – Te Hiku Media, the Science Media Centre and Ignite Studios

Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora online series – Mental Health Foundation

M3 Mindfulness for children – Jase Te Patu

Wellbeing for Māori – Depression.org.nz

Māori response to Covid-19 – Mental Health Foundation with Mason Durie.

Empower your whānau through #manaaki20 – Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu

Move over astrology, it’s time to return to the Māori lunar calendar – The Spinoff

Maramataka – The Spinoff

Rural

The Farmstrong Chat video series with psychologist and farmer Sarah Donaldson, and ambassador Sam Whitelock – Farmstrong and FMG

Wellbeing topics – Farmstrong

Join me and lock in the Five Ways to Wellbeing – Sam Whitlock, Farmstrong and FMG

Give yourself a break – Farmstrong and FMG

Sleep well, Farmstrong and FMG

Managing stress – the essentials and the warning signs of unhealthy stress checklist – Farmstrong and FMG

Healthy thinking for better farming and worksheet – Farmstrong and FMG

Looking after yourself is just as important as looking after your land – Depression.org.nz

Rural Employee Support Hub – RESH

Workplaces

Working well from home – Te Pou 

Covid 19: How to support a colleague – Te Pou

Workplace wellbeing during Covid-19 – Mental Health Foundation and Getting Through Together

Staying connected kete – Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

Workplace Wellbeing landing page – Mental Health Foundation

Working Well guide and resources – Mental Health Foundation

Ideas and advice on mental wellbeing – Wellplace

Open Minds tips and factsheets – Mental Health Foundation

Schools and kura

Sparklers – All Right?

Te Rito Toi – developed by Professor Peter O’Connor and multiple contributors

The mental wealth project – Le Va

Supporting Wellbeing & Hauora Video Series – Ministry of Education

Youthline Advice Hub – Youthline

Book suggestions

If you are looking for a related book to read, check out: 

 

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Taha Whānau

Family and social wellbeing 

Recharge with others / Whiria te muka tangata

Today’s whakataukī: Ehara taku toa i te toa taki tahi, engari he toa taki tini. My strength is not that of one but that of many.

 

What is taha whānau?

Taha whānau is the people we care about, who recharge us and make us feel we belong. Whānau isn’t just our immediate relatives. It includes our friends, hoamahi/colleagues, iwi or community – the people who are close to our hearts.

Why is taha whānau an important way to wellbeing?

Spending time with whānau, doing things for them and getting involved gives you a feeling of purpose, connection and wellbeing. It benefits you and builds the strength of your whole whānau. As a core source of strength, support, security and identity, whānau plays a central role in your wellbeing.

Reimagining wellbeing through taha whānau

Schools and kura
  • Ask tauira/students to sit with someone they don’t usually hang out with for the duration of the class.
  • Think of five people you're grateful to be connected to and why. This can be your biological whānau, the whānau you live with, caregivers or whāngai/foster whānau, circle of friends, school or wider community, or even your fur whānau!
  • Run the Fruit Salad icebreaker game, which encourages diversity, with tauira. 
Workplaces
  • Share your favourite recipes to make a cookbook with your hoamahi/colleagues!
  • Ask staff to talk about someone they feel a connection to outside of work. Draw a tree and add photos of everyone’s connections to it. Share it online with #MHAWConnectionTree
  • Hold a DIY sandwich competition kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face (or over Zoom).
Whānau, community and individuals
  • Reconnect with whānau you haven’t talked to in awhile via text or by kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face.
  • Offer your time to help whānau in need of tautoko/support. It could be looking after their tamariki or taking their rubbish bins out.

whanau 1

Photo Credit: Toni Touche

 

Taha Wairua

Spiritual Wellbeing 

Rediscover everyday wonder / Whāia ngā mīharotanga o ia rā

Today’s whakataukī: He oranga ngākau, he hikinga wairua. When it touches your heart, it lifts your spirit.

 

What is taha wairua?

Wairua is about taking notice and appreciating the beauty around us. It’s about rediscovering things that make you feel awe, hope, strength, unity and connection. Wairua is your relationship with the environment, people and your heritage. For some, wairua is faith or a higher power. There’s no wrong way to think of or experience wairua.

Why is taha wairua an important way to wellbeing?

Feeling comfortable in your identity, values and beliefs helps you feel secure in who you are and what you stand for. When you are content with yourself it is easier to cope with challenges, build strong whānau relationships and discover the things that uplift you.

Reimagining wellbeing through taha wairua

Schools and kura
  • Start your day with mindfulness – check out these Māori mindfulness or videos on YouTube.
  • Make and share a playlist of songs that make you feel good. 
Workplaces
  • Identify someone or something that has helped you through the last six months and find a way to express appreciation.
  • Ask your team to share a song that makes them feel good to create a playlist that uplifts and inspires! Share a link so you can listen through headphones.
Whānau, communities and individuals
  • Go for a walk in nature and take notice of your surroundings – the birds singing, leaves rustling and clouds moving.
  • Sing a waiata/song that makes you feel good.
  • Set some goals and think about the things you are proud of, challenges you’ve overcome, people who are important to you and what you hope to achieve in the future.

wairua 2

Photo Credit: Chaney Manuel 

Whenua

Connection to the land and roots 

Return to nature / Hono ki te taiao

Today’s whakataukī: Ko te whenua ko au, ko au ko te whenua. I am the land and the land is me.

What is whenua?

Whenua is our connection to the land. It’s soil, plants, animals and people – tangata whenua. It’s the earth through which you are connected to your tūpuna/ancestors. Whenua is a place of belonging and it’s comforting that it is never too far away.

Why is whenua an important way to wellbeing?

Everything in the Māori world has a life force, the mauri, and when our natural resources are not looked after, this life force is weakened. This has a direct impact on mental health and wellbeing.

Reimagining wellbeing through the whenua:

School and kura
  • Start the class with a karakia acknowledging the whenua. Here’s an example:

Korihi te manu - The bird sings 

Tākiri mai i te ata - The morning has dawned 

Ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea - The day has broken

Tihei mauri ora -  Behold there is life
  • Ask tauira/students to take care of the whenua by picking up rubbish each day.
  • Spend time in your own backyard with your tamariki, and remind them that the whenua is where our kai comes from! Find activity ideas here.
Workplaces
  • Ask your team to bring in a photo of a place they are connected to that gives them strength. Put the pictures up on a wall or create an online space where you share the photos.
  • Go outside and see how many native plants you notice! Can you spot any harakeke/flax, pūriri, tōtara or rengarenga/native lily?
  • Get your team to draw a ‘must see taonga’: a local map of places that make them feel good!
Whānau, communities and individuals
  • Sit in your backyard and watch the world go by. Take your shoes off and feel the grass under your feet.
  • If you’re not from where you live, discover the name of the local iwi/tribe, hapū/sub-tribe, maunga/mountain, awa/river and moana/sea.
  • Cook and share kai you love or you’ve grown in your garden with your whānau.

whenua 5

 Photo Credit: @the.mint.trip

 

 

Taha Tinana

Physical Wellbeing

Refuel your body / Whakamarohi i tō tinana

Today’s whakataukī: Mauri tū, Mauri ora. An active soul for your wellbeing.

 

What is taha tinana?

Taha tinana is about how your body feels and how you care for it. Refueling your body helps you to feel mentally well. Sometimes your tinana might not be where you’d like it to be and this might be beyond your control. What’s important is that you do what you can to nurture it.

Why is taha tinana an important way to wellbeing?

Trying to nourish and strengthen your physical wellbeing will help you to cope with the ups and downs of life. Having strong taha tinana means we can be there for our whānau and take leadership in helping our loved ones live longer, healthier lives too.

Reimagining wellbeing through taha tinana

Schools and kura
  • Be grateful for your tinana. Ask tauira/students to write a letter to your body (e.g. thank you arms for helping me hug!).
  • Adjust your classroom with books, mindful colouring and beanbags so it's a calmer space for tauira. Sensory activities can help to reduce anxiety and stress.  
  • Challenge tauira to set a goal related to their tinana. It could be to do with mindful breathing, swimming, or waka ama – whatever makes them feel their best.
Workplaces
  • As a team, design a wellbeing space that will help people relax. If you work remotely, discuss what this looks like at home, and how you balance work and lifestyle in a confined area.
  • Take five and check-in with yourself to see what your body needs – stretching, mindful breathing or a walk around the block. Challenge your colleagues!
Whānau, communities and individuals
  • Been to the doctor lately? Consider visiting your local GP or hauora for a general check–up.
  • Kai nourishes your body. Why not cook one of your favourite meals this week? You could hold a whānau MasterChef competition!
  • Make a commitment with your whānau to improve your physical wellbeing. E.g. Support one another to quit smoking or drink more water.

 Credit fleuresqueandco

Photo Credit: @fleuresqueandco

 

Taha Hinengaro

Mental and emotional wellbeing

Refresh your mind / Whāngaia tō hinengaro

Today's whakataukī: Ki te wātea te hinengaro, me te kaha rere o te wairua, ka tāea ngā mea katoa / When the mind is free and the spirit is willing, anything is possible. 

What is taha hinengaro?

Taha hinengaro is your mind, heart, conscience, thoughts and feelings. Just like your physical health, your hinengaro needs to be nurtured. Hinengaro is what you do to stimulate and refresh your mind so you can better cope with the ups and downs of life.

Why is taha hinengaro an important way to wellbeing?

Taking care of taha hinengaro is important for everyone, regardless of whether or not you’ve experienced mental illness or distress. When your taha hinengaro is strong, you can express your feelings and reach out for support from friends, whānau and hoamahi/colleagues if you need to.

Reimagining wellbeing through taha hinengaro

Schools and kura
  • Ask tauira/students to take five to think of five positive thoughts or good things that have happened this week.
  • Create a compliments jar and ask tauira to write compliments or notes of aroha to their classmates. Kaiako/teachers and other staff can do this too! It’s a nice idea to read these aloud at the end of the day or week.
  • If tamariki or tauira are feeling restless or over–energised, head outside for five minutes and encourage them to take deep, slow breaths and listen to the sounds of nature.
Workplaces
  • Reflect on the challenges you overcame as a team and what what strengths you discovered.
  • Map your daily energy levels – when do you feel most energy? Morning or afternoon? 
  • Try something new or rediscover an old interest (e.g. the guitar!).
Whānau, communities and individuals

  • Share your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust. Expressing our emotions can help us to understand them better, and to feel less alone in what we're going through.
  •  Practice gratitude and write down three things you’re grateful for.
  • Read books that talk about feelings and emotions. Buy them online or head to the library!

hinengaro 1

Photo Credit:@britmuminnz

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