World Mental Health Day | Fostering Sense of Belonging
“Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community. It has intrinsic and instrumental value and is a basic human right.”
World Health Organization (WHO).
Despite mental wellbeing recognised as a fundamental basic right, over a billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition as per WHO data. In the 2023 Census, 26% of people in New Zealand were identified as experiencing poor mental wellbeing. Mental health is complex with many variables contributing to safeguard or threaten mental wellbeing. Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand has been running the annual Mental Health Awareness Week since 1993 to encourage more discussion around this complex topic. With increasing social isolation and decrease in trust among the New Zealand population; this year’s campaign, running from the 12th to the 18th of October, is themed ‘Belonging Matters’.
Sense of belonging can be defined as a person’s perception of being connected, valued, and accepted; and is a fundamental and intrinsic human need, and vital to one’s well-being.
Migration involves moving from a place of connection to a new environment where they must start a fresh to create a sense of home. For minorities, finding connection and a sense of home can be even more challenging when faced with racism and discrimination. It may be institutionalised discrimination or experienced in every day personal interactions. It may be overt (obvious) or covert (subtle). In which ever form it is, there is evidence indicating to the negative impact discrimination, and marginalisation has on one’s mental well-being.
When one feels like systems and people are working against you, one can’t help but feel ostracised and disconnected. It is also difficult to feel connected and belonged when one is made to feel like a foreigner just because you do not fit someone else’s narrative of ‘true’ belonging. Distrust of the ‘other’ is a cause of decreased social cohesion and results in lessened sense of belonging for everyone.
May this Mental Health Awareness Week be a time of reflection on how all of us individually and collectively make each other feel valued and included and create a sense of home where we can all feel belonged for the betterment of our individual and collective well-being.
Dulani Abeysinghe, eCALD® Educator, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Image Caption: Just as a transplanted tree needs stability and care to flourish, people need support to grow and thrive in new environments.
