An online event later this weeks aims to encourage those living in Aberdeenshire to prioritise their mental health.
The Mind Yer Mind campaign brings together mental wellbeing ambassadors from across the north-east to discuss and share different ways of looking after mental health.
It was launched by Aberdeen Community Planning Partnership (ACPP) earlier this year.
According to NHS Grampian, there are five ways to help improve mental health and wellbeing.
They are connecting with other people, being physically active, learning new skills, giving to others and paying attention to the present moment.
These are the areas that will be focused on at the Mind Yer Mind Live event this week.
Mind Yer Mind Live
Mind Yer Mind Live aims to encourage healthy and open conversations about mental wellbeing.
It will be held online on Thursday September 30 at 6pm.
Along with members of the public, mental health ambassadors including Dame Evelyn Glennie, Hannah Miley, Simon Maryan, Lee Morrison and Isobel Gregory A.K.A. Grandma Griggly will be taking part and sharing their experiences.
Jim Savege, chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council, is also a Mind Yer Mind ambassador.
He shared the importance of staying active in improving his mental health: “I have, for a long time, been using activity to help improve my mental wellbeing. It is incredibly important to me to get out in the hills when I feel things starting to get tough, and it genuinely helps me see thing more clearly.
“That is why I was so happy to back the campaign. I am looking forward to this online event because I hope it will help arm people with tips and tricks that they can use to stay well. The wellbeing of Aberdeenshire is so important.”
Clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn, whose illustrations throughout lockdown aimed to help people better understand their emotions, will also be speaking at the event.
Her recent book, A Toolkit for Modern Life, deals with many of the same issues as the campaign.
She said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining this event on publication day for ‘A Toolkit for Happiness’ to talk about a subject I am passionate about, how we can look after our mental health proactively as part of our day to day lives.”
Staying mentally well
Andy Killie is the leader of Aberdeenshire Council and the chairman of the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) board.
He said the Mind Yer Mind campaign aims to help people protect their mental health before they get to a point of struggling with it and needing help.
He said: “Right now there are more and more resources than ever to help people reach out for help if they are facing issues of mental ill-health. However the CPP board noticed that there was a gap in the information one step before that, how people can stay mentally well.
“‘Mind Yer Mind’ was created to fill that gap, and help people better understand things they can do to stay mentally well, before interventions are required. This event is about bringing a spotlight onto the things which may help earlier to empower us all.”
People can register for the free online event on the ACPP website.