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Head Desk: a mental health culture resource

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24.01.2022 I’m back with a new instalment of the Lessons From Pop Culture series today. The Lessons From Pop Culture series collates moving fictional scenes that are valuable for us to see, for both encouragement and comfort. This one is all about mentorship. Often when we think of a mentorship, we imagine something formal but in truth we are mentoring and being mentored all the time. Parents mentor their children, friends and colleagues mentor each other. The mentor-mentee dynamic im...plies a power differential, but it doesn’t have to feel this way. Though power is a factor in all our relationships (including mentorships between peers), arguably the most healthy and successful mentorships occur in situations of mutual respect, where two people feel they are learning from each other, rather than teaching or being taught a lesson. It’s important to accept when others know more than us (or have different experiences) this is likely why we seek them out in the first place, even if we have done so unconsciously but this applies to all parties involved; it isn’t only the younger, less experienced or less resourced person that needs to remain humble; if there is a clear distinction between who the mentor and who the mentee is, it’s perhaps even more important that the mentor is aware of this. We don’t always have access to these types of relationships; now, or in our youth. Our parents may not have been mentors to us, and while having a (non-familial) mentor or mentee is distinctly different from being in a parent-child dynamic, it can be relationally similar enough to fill some of those gaps (if both people want it to). This is perhaps why some of these relationships are so meaningful. If you’re looking for some heart-warming examples of mentoring, click through x Stories are important for our emotional survival. Seek out what you need to see and hear.

21.01.2022 Hey peeps. Please fill out this form to register your protest of the destruction of the Djap Wurrung Directions Tree (and the other sacred trees at risk of destruction). https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/stop_work_now Personalise the message so it’s less likely to get filtered out of their inboxes x Every opportunity that this country *doesn’t* take to preserve and honour sites that are sacred to Indigenous peoples is another mark on our record. Every time we do this we communi...cate what we value and devalue. Every time we do this, we continue the project of colonisation. Please also call Daniel Andrews office to register your protest as well (phone numbers below). And share this information with your friends. What the Victorian government has done (and plans to continue doing) is deeply upsetting to the Djap Wurrung people, and something they’ve been explicitly fighting against for years. The government is saying that the Directions Tree was not ‘culturally significant’. They do not get to decide what is sacred to the Djap Wurrung people, and they are being deliberately deceitful about their prior knowledge and intent. Take care of yourselves and each other. Phone numbers: Daniel Andrews (03) 9651 5000 Planning Minister Richard Wynne (03) 8683 0964 Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gabrielle Williams (03) 9096 8587 Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan (03) 8392 610

19.01.2022 Hey peeps. I’ve been quiet the last half of this year. I’m not sure about you, but one of the ways I’ve coped with the state of the world is by retreating from online life and spending a bit more time in my personal life. It’s helped my own mental health, but I do miss interacting with you all. As an early holiday gift from me to you at the end of this turbulent, disruptive, on fire, infectious, and exhausting year here’s something fun and immersive for you to enjoy.... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4W0mNUzbGZIz4K4Tq67Ktq If it's safe for you to experience with other people, then please do! But other participants are not required (the immersive part is very much in your brain). As the year draws to a close, maybe you have something you want to celebrate, maybe you don’t. No matter how this time has passed for you, you deserve a bit of joy. Take it. [Image 1 ID: You’ve got your blades on. You’re meeting friends. You're sitting on a dangerous wobbly board with wheels, and you’re being pushed into a crowd of people playing limbo in partial darkness. Lights pulse. You’ve got a glow stick around your neck. There’s serious potential for injury. It's fog night at the skating rink.] [Image 2 ID: Picture of Spotify playlist 90s - 00’s Fog Night At The Skating Rink featuring album covers from C+C Music Factory, Black Box, La Bouche and Twnety 4 Seven] P.S. If you turn off shuffle it plays in the order the songs were released!

16.01.2022 Hey Peeps. The holidays are often a difficult time for many people. The usual reasons for this are complex; family as a concept, and in practice, along with annual anniversaries can bring up (or inflame) feelings that we may suppress at other times. 2020 has kept us apart from many people we love, and this may add an extra layer to our feelings about this season, or it may be the entire reason we feel negatively at this time. If people you love are having a gathering you ca...nnot attend (and you want to), ask them if you can dial in. If you’re feeling lost or unsafe, please give one of the below numbers a call x. Remember: family is more than biology. Your friends are your family. Animals you care for are your family. Your work matters. Your contributions matter. You are a wanted part of an interconnected web that would be immeasurably different without you, even if this time of year makes you feel apart. These days will come and go (along with New Years). You don’t have to feel good about them if you can’t, or don’t want to. Their passing does not say anything about what you have or haven’t achieved this year. The Gregorian Calendar is just an idea. Time goes on and on, and we can ascribe our own meanings to it if what’s on offer doesn’t work for us. If this year sucked (and a lot of it it did) it doesn’t have to mean anything more than that. Stay safe x. Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 Lifeline: 13 11 14 or https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/get-help-home Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-sup/get-immediate-support QLife (LGBTI service): 1800 184 527 or https://qlife.org.au/support/ #mentalhealthsupport #holidays #christmas #newyears #hanukkah #family #chosenfamily #friends #2020

05.01.2022 A 2020 visual metaphor. This is some garlic I planted at the beginning of the year. It’s definitely not garlic yet and I’m not sure if it will be!! (planted sprouted cloves from the cupboard, didn’t buy the proper ones for planting). Anyway, I’ve kept my other four bulbs in the ground to test again in another few months. I suggest you do the same, garlic or otherwise x

03.01.2022 CN: allegations of sexual assault, Australian politics If you’re a survivor of sexual assault or abuse I see you, I believe you. What happened was not your fault x Some thoughts on this afternoon’s press conference:... I consider myself to be fairly empathetic, and really feel for someone when I see them upset. I suspect many of you who follow this account also share this trait. Sometimes seeing someone upset makes us more inclined to believe they are telling the truth, because their emotions seem (or are) authentic. But I just want to put this forward: people are often genuinely upset when facing the consequences of something they’ve done; it is not itself an indication of innocence. Similarly, public scrutiny effects the mental health of everyone who faces it, whether they’ve done the things they’re accused of or not and again is not an indication of innocence. Please take care of yourselves and each other. You matter. Your voice matters x 1800 Respect: 1800 737 732 Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 If living outside of Australia, please seek out services in your country x Petition: End the culture of misogyny in Parliament House https://www.change.org/p/scott-morrison-end-the-culture-of-