Tips Offered For Mental Health Wellness In Light Of Recent World Conflicts

The Auckland Community Health Network published advice for families to cope with the stress of recent violence.

Conflicts abroad, including recent events in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza, can raise tensions. This is especially true when residents of the area and their communities are worried about their family members.

OCHN recommends the following:

Advice for adults

- Be aware of your news exposure and make sure the news you consume comes from trusted sources to avoid misinformation.

- Everyone experiences events and trauma in different ways and it is okay to think or feel after the event. Some people react with fear, others with anger, others with shock or sadness.

- Encourage people to talk about their thoughts and feelings. Don't hesitate to seek help from a mental health professional, especially if thoughts of self-harm or suicide arise.

- Try to get back to a routine and schedule to increase your sense of stability and balance, reduce stress and give you a sense of control and predictability.

Tips for parents

- Accept what happened. When your child talks or asks about their trauma, it is important for caregivers/family members in their life to know what happened, provide age-appropriate information, and offer support.

- Parents want to contact older children who have seen the news or videos on social networks and find out their thoughts and feelings about what happened.

- Be aware of the impact on your child. Talk to your child about his thoughts and feelings about the event and validate his feelings and concerns.

Tips for the community

- Building and maintaining the right relationships will help you better understand and respond to your partners and partners.

- Participate in implicit bias training and provide ongoing opportunities for meaningful discussions.

- Create relationships with neighbors who can provide support and partners who can help resolve injustice in society.

- As a member of society, you have the power to protect yourself from injustice.

OCHN resources

- OCHN's Behavioral Health Emergency Unit can be contacted at 248-464-6363, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

– OCHN Mental Health Explorer School connects youth and families with behavioral health and substance use supports as well as financial assistance. For more information about the School Mental Health Navigator program, call 248-462-6294 or email SchoolNavigator@oaklandchn.org.

- Call 988, the national accident and emergency number.

Stanford researchers have found the recipe for mental health: Nature