Guest Writer - Grassroots Mental Health Movements - Why we need more of them.
By Rahul Seth
Founder of Perth Active Depression Support Group.
This article has been written by Rahul Seth - thanks for telling us about the Perth Active Depression Support Group which you have founded, sounds like a fantastic initiative. If you would like to follow Rahul and his work with the PADSG you can visit any of these links - @PerthADSG on twitter and instagram, the website, on Meetup or on Facebook.
As always, the experiences and opinions conveyed in this article are that of the writer and are not a substitute for professional advice. If you need help, follow the link in the menu bar to find helplines in your country or talk to a professional.
Recreation and hobbies: two significantly strong yet simple ways to improve your mental health, wellbeing and lifestyle and make you a happier person. However, while there are tonnes of clubs and associations in every community that cover various interests and passions people may have, little seems to exist specifically for people who identify with mental health issues.
Why is that? Why do we assume that therapeutic talking groups are the only way that people can take action to improve their mental health and wellbeing in a group setting? Why isn’t there groups that promote positive actions and steps in a collaborative fashion to improve your mental health and wellbeing with those living with the various conditions?
These were the questions I asked myself almost 2 years ago, and after a bit of thought and careful consideration, I enacted on them. My name is Rahul Seth and I am the founder of the Perth Active Depression Support Group. I’m a Chartered Accountant turned mental health advocate who suffers from bipolar disorder and went onto forming my own support group on the social networking site Meetup with the idea the group would do more than just simply focus on members talking about the issues we faced.
Recreation as a theme to improve mental health
At first I didn’t know how this was group was going to evolve other than we would do activities to distract ourselves from the issues that we faced. The idea I had in my mind was to do something simple like to play a game of monopoly: have something to distract for a few hours with people who understood what you were going through, but were also passionate about overcoming these personal issues by participating in activities with you to improve both mood and friendship networks. As this evolved, recreation became the natural theme of the group. Our newly formed leadership team recently adopted the following group purpose statement: “Coming together through recreation”.
Creating and building a community
From humble beginnings, being a meetup that featured coffee, a brainstorming session on what the group was to be about and a game of uno, the group has grown to a full fledged community, which now features over 20 volunteers, 5 of which assist the group in a “leadership team”. We have 1,300 online members through the platform meetup, of which 28% have RSVP’d yes to at least one event. That engagement number might seem low, but you have to remember this is both a group that is online based and also relates to mental health, so members may be shy to come to events.
From our monthly board games nights and fitness sessions, to our weekly beach walks and all the other activities we run on a occasional or semi regular basis, we have managed to create a community that otherwise wouldn’t exist for our members. We’re at a point now where members are now starting to see each other regularly and make friendships with each other that they otherwise wouldn't have made had it not been for this group existing.
But just don’t take it from me. Take a look at what our members have had to say about us:
“Groups such as PADSG have helped me get out of the house that I locked myself in and and meet people in a similar position to myself”
“Just what I needed to get off the couch. Laughter is the best medicine”
“Had such a good time. Thank you. This session was the highlight of my week”
But why?
So I bet now you are wondering what’s my agenda with the group? Is it to increase the size of the membership of the group and say we have a large number of followers? Is it to run more events that will improve our members lives? Is it to profit off this group?
The real answer comes down to one concept: community. Something that I have learned over my 10 year challenge with mental health, where I was first diagnosed with depression in 2008, is that social connection and community are the ideal sources of happiness in one person’s life. This is best reflected in my favourite TED Talk on the longest study of happiness in which they found that social connection leads to happier and healthier lives for people.
I’ve gone from a point in my life of having little or no networks that I was a part of, to having more connections and networks that I can possibly manage! From the friendships I have made with group members, to the relationships I’ve made with my volunteer team, the conversations I have had with CEO’s, politicians and other high profile people regarding the group, and also being able to participate in once in a lifetime experiences such as the Young Social Pioneer program run by the Foundation for Young Australians, this group has enriched my life in ways I can’t imagine.
This is what drives me to continue running the group and promoting this message. Medication and counselling have a part to play in mental health recovery, but what I see as the long term solution to mental health recovery is social connection. If we can get that message through to our members and followers than I will be a happy man.
What I like to see next happen?
One of my personal goals with this group is to see us be emulated in other states across Australia, if not other cities across the world! We need more movements made by and run for consumers of mental health, as the power of peer support is strong and can help us all achieve mental health recovery. If you are interested in starting your own recreational mental health movement, then feel free to email me on hello@perthadsg.com.au and I will do my best to help out.