North-east residents are being encouraged to ‘pass the parcel’ to get people taking about mental health.
The new campaign has been created by Aberdeen resident and mental health campaigner Dawn Getliffe, along with See Me, the national movement to end mental health stigma and discrimination.
The idea behind the campaign is that people send a parcel to someone they care about or someone they think might be struggling – especially during the Covid-19 pandemic – to show them it’s good to talk about mental health, and not something to feel ashamed or embarrassed to speak about.
When someone receives a parcel, they can then create their own package and send it on to someone else, to help spread conversations on mental health and tackle the stigma around it.
Ms Getliffe, 28, came up with the idea because she wanted to find a different way to get people speaking about mental health in light of the pandemic.
She wanted to show how important acts of kindness are to help people who are struggling, as well as find a way of starting conversations on mental health.
“Simple conversations such as asking a friend, ‘Are you okay? How are you finding things in these times? What are you doing to stay well?’ are really important and we can encourage these conversations through Pass the Parcel,” she said.
“It is both a random act of kindness and a conversation starter about mental health.”
To find out more and download resources for your own parcel, visit www.seemescotland.org.
