7 events youths can take part in to support World Mental Health Day 2022

World Mental Health day is celebrated internationally on Oct 10 every year. Meant to educate and raise awareness about global mental health, World Mental Health Day also seeks advocacy against social stigma.

Various organisations in Singapore will conduct workshops, events and activities throughout October, which is also designated as World Mental Health Month.

Here are seven events youths can take part in to heal, recharge and support the cause for mental health.

Founded in 2020 as a community response to Singapore’s COVID-19 lockdown, Calm Collective will return with another year of the CalmCon well-being festival.

Running from Oct 6 to 9, CalmCon 2022 will feature key speakers and personalities like Adrian Ang (Xiao Ming from SGAG), Dr Jamus Lim and Benjamin Kheng.

The talks will be on topics like unpacking mental health myths, a Spotify playlist on mental health strategies and practising self-care at work.

The hybrid event will be held online on Oct 6 and 7, as well as in person on Oct 8 at Temasek Shophouse and on Oct 9 on the 18th floor of WeWork, 21 Collyer Quay.

Want to support World Mental Health Day while getting your workouts in? You can participate in The Limitless Run, a virtual fundraising event to help youths get access to therapy.

All participants will also get access to masterclasses conducted by mental health professionals from Oct 24 to 28. These include Healthy Ways to Manage Emotions, Parenting Mentally Resilient Children and Supporting a Friend.

The event will run from Oct 10 to Nov 30, and participants will use a running app to track their time and distance for their finisher’s medal and race pack.

Runners in the 10km and 100km solo categories will be entitled to a race tee on top of the medal and race pack.

The event starts on Oct 10 and will last till Nov 30.

The Singapore Jazz Association (JASS) is conducting a World Mental Health Day Concert Presentation called Swinging Through Our Emotions.

Four musicians from JASS will perform on the piano, flute, bass and drums during the concert presentation. A panel of speakers will also be present to share with participants how they can take charge of their emotions.

The panel includes executive director and music director of Jass, Jeremy Monteiro, alongside psychiatrist Professor Kua Ee Heok, clinical psychologist Aarti Chidambaram and counselling therapist Varian Monteiro.

The live concert will take place at the recital studio in the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre on Oct 9 at 3.30pm. The concert will also run again on YouTube for free at 8pm on Oct 10.

Youth Corps Singapore will host the fourth edition of their Phasing It series on Oct 29.

Phasing It is a conversation series first established in 2020 as an avenue for youths to share their views on how they can get through different challenges together.

Phasing It 4.0 Next Station: Unknown seeks to help youths navigate the feelings of being lost as they go through different phases of their lives.

Two speakers will share their personal experiences, how the challenges they faced affected them and how they solved their problems.

The event will be held at The Red Box at 113 Somerset Road from 2pm to 5pm.

Need a space for relaxation? Also organised by Youth Corps Singapore, The Sensory Series: Singing Bowls is a short sound bath session on Oct 20.

It is part of the Re:Ground @ Dungeon Sensory Series, which aims to explore unique methods of self care that will engage participants’ various senses.

A sound bath is a meditative experience for a group of people as they lie down and listen to resonating sounds, in this case the pleasant echoes of Tibetan singing bowls when struck. 

Two time slots are available for the event. Participants can join the first session from 7.30pm to 8.15pm or the second session from 8.30pm to 9.15pm.

The relaxation sessions will take place at The Red Box, located at 113 Somerset Road.

The second edition of the Mental Health Awareness and Wellbeing Festival is coming back on Oct 9 at the Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre.

Organised by Migrant Writers of Singapore, a community of migrants who are also literature enthusiasts, the group will conduct different activities during the festival.

Look forward to storytelling programmes, poetry readings and a play about mental health as the festival runs from 1pm to 5pm.

Another event organised by Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre and in partnership with LASALLE College of the Arts is a two part workshop and talk with youths.

Named Let’s Talk: Art and Mental Health, the first talk allows participants to discuss the understanding of art and mental health in Singapore, and create their own personalised greeting cards.

The talk will be conducted on Oct 15.

Gifting Mental Health: An Arts Workshop will be held a week later on Oct 22. Participants will get to create a 3D artwork about the significance of mental health and wellness.

The two-part workshop will be conducted from 2pm to 4pm at Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre (HYC), 30A Central 1, S768796.

A returning event organised by Youth Corps Singapore named Conversations at Dusk 2.0 will be held on Oct 23. 

In a cozy environment adorned with fairy lights and glow sticks, participants will explore the topic of self-care through introspective reflections.

They will also make use of conversation cards to learn about different perspectives on self-care from each other.

Conversations at Dusk 2.0 will run from 7pm to 10pm at The Red Box, located at 113 Somerset Road.

For more resources such as self-assessment and tips for coping with challenging seasons in life, check out Youthopia’s mental well-being resource page.