Looking for Mental Health Resources? Keep this List Handy
May is Mental Health Awareness month.
In honor of that, and in light of A Balanced Glass' intention to share tools that support your wellbeing, we're dedicating this week's post to a short refresher on resources we look to. They offer free information, tips, guides and links to support mental health and wellbeing.
For readers looking to take stock of their mental wellbeing, the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation is a great place to start. Founded in 2015 by Victor and Lynne Brick, the JW Brick Foundation aims to change the way the world treats mental health. Their long-term goal is to integrate and realize a truly healthy lifestyle, which includes nutrition, movement, meditation and holistic practices. The site features a questionnaire to help you build your own ecosystem of support tools and resources and get started on a self-guided path.
If you’re an employer looking to support your team, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation has a solid toolkit of resources to help support employee mental health and wellbeing, including a Returning To The Workplace Guide and Employee Health and Wellbeing Beyond COVID for those looking to help team members return to work more easily.
If you need help with substance use, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a comprehensive government resource, including Find Your Treatment that contains links for confidential access to helplines and crisis lines for mental health needs via phone, text, and web.
For anyone facing a mental health crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline (US) on 1 800 273 8255 or visit the website at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. For US readers, you can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor.
NAMI – the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Local community NAMI walks are held across the US throughout the year, which gathers community members looking to open conversations, and change the stigma around mental health, all while getting gentle exercise.
If you are looking for a therapist or counseling support, head to Psychology Today, Good Therapy or Open Path Collective to explore options for treatment.
And if you’re looking for science-based advice in digestible bites, The Science of Happiness podcast from the Greater Good Science Center is a terrific series of 20 minute episodes covering a range of mental health topics – and a great listen on your morning walk.
Mental Health Awareness Month is every month, and as always, The Drinks Trust (UK), Hello Sunday Morning (Aus), Healthy Pour and Ben’s Friends (US) are reliable sources of support for our industry. You can find them listed in the Resources section of our website.
Be well,
Beck
What We're Reading:
Here's what has piqued our interest this week in the world of wine and mindfulness.
How the Low- and No-Alcohol Movement Is Reshaping the Future of the 'Drinking Occasion' - Rolling Stone
Consumers have more options than ever before when it comes to what they can drink on all occasions throughout the day.
Killing the Buddha – Mindful Leader.com
Various consultants and coaches teach Buddhist meditation in companies for different reasons, but they share the same challenge…
Concrete Lessons for Creating a More Diverse and Inclusive Wine Industry | SevenFifty Daily
The Assemblage Symposium brought together underrepresented voices in the wine industry to discuss and share ideas that inspire action.
A Wine Tasting at the End of the World – David Brown for Pix.wine
How three months on ice changed one wine lover’s view of the world.
Meet the Community:
Here we meet some of the talented folks who make our profession so dynamic.
Aidy Smith, Journalist and TV Presenter, The Three Drinkers, and The Evening Standard (Wapping, London, UK)
Years in the Industry:
I’ve been writing about drinks for about 10 years, but began helping out at my family's winery from the age of about 20, so got hands on pretty from a fairly young age! I was a child actor with a show on ITV throughout my childhood, but after being diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, I was ostracized and instantly had that career robbed of me due to the stigmas of the disability. That said, I’ve never accepted ’no’ for an answer when it’s unjust. So I dared to dream and four years ago took back the career I’d wanted to pursue my entire life. It was time.
My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:
Focus, trying to remove the daily distractions of technology to get on with the task at hand.
Allowing my body to rest.We all too often keep plugging away and don’t give our brain and bodies the time they need to re-charge.
Having Tourette syndrome, I encounter various hurdles the vast majority of the population doesn’t. While many people think TS is a ’swearing disability’ (it’s not and only 10% of those with TS swear; it’s called coprolalia), there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes. The tics are just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve managed to train myself and contain my tics over the years, but that comes with a price. It’s exhausting and draining. Not to mention the lack of sleep when I’ve had a restless or stressful day. Trying to run two companies while dealing with this is... a challenge, shall we say. But with perseverance we get through.
How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
Boundaries. We’re going to work ourselves silly sometimes. It’s the nature of growing a business from scratch or pursuing something we love. The trick is balancing it out with other things that bring us a different kind of happiness where we can unwind and relax as well. Disconnect yourself every now and again to let your batteries re-charge and let your mind wander. That’s where your true creativity will unfold.
What Inspires Me:
For every hardship we go through, we learn. For every tear we shed, negative experience we have or sad situation we find ourselves in, we must always realize that our emotional intelligence and cultural awareness are growing exponentially. Never dwell and mope, always look onwards and upwards. My childhood was rife with bullying, stigma and discrimination. I was made to feel worthless and like I’d never achieve anything. But I’ve never let that hold me back. I look at my disability not as a weakness, but as a superpower. It will never hold me back and only ever inspire me to be the very best that I can be.
A Quote I Love:
The best things in life are always unseen. That’s why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry and dream. – Helen Keller
You can connect with Aidy online at www.aidysmith.com and Instagram @Sypped and Twitter @Sypped
