ELBA 30: Mental Health Awareness Week

Blog post written by Reginald Adodoadji, Communications and PR Coordinator at ELBA

Last week from 13th – 19th May, marked Mental Health Awareness Week. ELBA was fully engaged in supporting the Green Ribbon and “This is Me” campaigns. Our external work with partners is a steadily growing strand of work to support mental wellbeing in the community and schools. However, we need to practice what we preach, so to mark the week our internal wellbeing committee, WELBA, hosted a series of events for our team which were designed to encourage us all to take a break from our desks, interact with our colleagues and get involved in creative and energetic activities which are known to be good for one’s mental health. So not your average week in the office then!

We were treated on Monday morning to a lovely healthy breakfast made up of muesli, yoghurt and an array of fruit. The week kicked off with a game of ping pong followed by a midday walk to the Cutty Sark, where the group enjoyed an alfresco lunch with delicious treats from Greenwich Market.

Then on Tuesday morning, we took part in the eccentric activity of Laughter Yoga. For those who do not know, it is made up a combination of playful laughter exercises and deep breathing exercises. Lotte Mikkelsen, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer for the UK came down to show us how to make laughing a routine and not just a habit, even when there’s nothing to laugh about. I would seriously recommend it!

Ashley, our Project manager for Challenge:ELBA was kind enough to host a drawing east London session, allowing us a chance to express ourselves and get in touch with our creative sides. You can see the outcome at the head of this blog. Deryl then lead a midday cycle on Thursday.

The week finished with a mile long swim (no, not in the Thames), at Tiller Leisure Centre. We have to say a massive well done to Holly and Christine who collectively surpassed the target for lengths swim, a tough job made to look easy by the pair of them.

So, as you can probably tell we had a fun week here at ELBA, partaking in uplifting activities will do wonders for your mood. We wanted to show that even smaller organisations can get involved in promoting positive mental wellbeing and ending the stigma of mental illness. We look forward to WELBA hosting more more energetic and creative activities throughout the year.