THE Friday Forum is back next week and to kick off a new year the panellists will explore ways to help you improve your mental fitness.
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Just as everyone needs to work to maintain physical fitness, staying mentally fit requires a bit of effort - even if it's just a reminder to yourself to take a break.
The Friday Forum is a joint initiative of The Land, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) and NSW Farmers.
The online forum will be guided by a panel of experts in the mental health field.
Claire Elligett, Act-Belong-Commit project officer at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (under the RAMHP banner); Sophie Potter, online community co-ordinator from ReachOut, and Lucy Richards, general manager of Smiling Mind, will sit on the panel.
Ms Elligett has three principles to positively enhance mental health.
1 Act: Challenge yourself physically or mentally by doing a crossword or going for a run.
2 Belong: Join a group or club or simply catch up with old friends and stay connected.
3 Commit: Make personal commitments to do good things.
"Volunteering has a positive effect on your mental health and helps others," she said.
"Helping others provides a sense of personal satisfaction."
Ms Elligett said farmers and their families could think of ways to get connected with their communities and give something back.
"Everyone knows about the benefits of keeping physically healthy but there's not so much awareness of keeping mentally healthy," she said.
"It's really simple stuff but people can take it one step at a time.
Ms Elligett said people should engage in pursuits that interest them.
ReachOut.com is Australia's leading online youth mental health service, where you can get the help you need, where and when you need it.
Every year ReachOut.com helps hundreds of thousands of people under 25 tackle everything from finding motivation to getting through really tough times.
ReachOut.com has tools and tips, apps and factsheets for making everyday life a little easier.
Smiling Mind is a free mindfulness app that offers modern meditation for young people.
The app is supported by many health organisations and is designed to help bring balance, a sense of clarity, calm and contentment to young lives.
Bite Back is a Black Dog Institute initiative that is an ever-changing space where you can discover ways to amplify the good stuff in life, share real and personal stories with others, check out videos, blogs and interviews of interesting people, check and track your mental fitness, and get stuck into a bunch of activities.
Visit our survey to tell us what you think about the Friday Forums.
