Sweat with Pride Day 11! 🏳️‍🌈🎉

Thought of the day: Nothing but dang that sunset was beautiful. Don't forget to make time to get out of the whare (house) and see your friends and whānau (family) during the winter.

If you're in my network and need an ear, you know where to find me!

Sweat with Pride Day 10! 🏳️‍🌈🎉

Thought of the day: Vitamin D is crazy important, huh? 🌞

Vitamin D receptors are found throughout the brain, including areas involved in mood regulation, and low vitamin D levels have been associated with increased rates of depression and poorer mental wellbeing.

One of the challenges is that vitamin D deficiency is relatively common, especially during winter months when many of us spend less time outdoors.
It's a useful reminder that mental wellbeing is rarely just about what's happening in our minds. Sleep, movement, nutrition, social connection, sunlight, and physical health all contribute to how we feel. 💖🏋️

So, on a nice day like today, why not suggest a walking meeting or a walk to the local coffee shop? 👀☕

Sweat with Pride Day 9 - Donations are being matched today!! 🏳️‍🌈💖

Thought of the day: I really appreciate how Te Whare Tapa Whā frames wellbeing as interconnected rather than individualised.

For Rainbow communities, taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), taha whānau (family and social wellbeing), taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing), and taha tinana (physical wellbeing) can all be impacted by acceptance, safety, identity, and belonging.

When someone is rejected socially, disconnected culturally, unsafe physically, or unable to express identity openly, those impacts rarely stay contained to one area of life. When one wall of the whare (house) is shaky, well, you can imagine what happens to the other walls...

However, affirmation and connection can strengthen multiple areas of wellbeing at once.

Holistic wellbeing models remind us that mental health is relational, not isolated.

Okay, so you can only post one pic here. But that's okay! They're on my Insta and LinkedIn anyways... :) 

🏳️‍🌈 Sweat with Pride - Day 5 🏳️‍🌈

💪 Exercise: 45 minutes reformer pilates

👏 Moment of gratitude: Deciding to get out of bed and go exercise rather than deciding to stay low

💭 Thought of the day: How can we take care of ourselves whilst taking care of others?

This is one I didn't have an answer to. I had to put intention behind finding that information today, and I found this fantastic resource from the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand speaking to how we can be there for others experiencing mental distress, while also ensuring we can get our fill of self-care, too!

https://lnkd.in/eBqN4MKu

I think my intention after reading that is to get my sleep back on track after being sick. It's funny how different viruses and sicknesses can throw your sleep right off track, so that is my focus for the upcoming weeks of Sweat with Pride - and beyond!

🏳️‍🌈 Sweat with Pride - Day 4 🏳️‍🌈 (ft. an accidentally funny photo op??)

💪 Exercise: 90 minutes power walking

👏 Moment of gratitude: Friends being there to light the way

💭 Thought of the day: Did you know: Takatāpui was historically translated closer to a term meaning "intimate friend" but has broadened in definition in recent decades to cover the wider Māori LGBTQIA+ community!

Learning more about takatāpui perspectives has challenged me to think more carefully about how culture shapes wellbeing and identity.

Learn a bit about the history of takatāpui here: Takatāpui: The Forgotten Queer Narratives in Māori History  | Massive Magazine

Or check out resources by and for takatāpui here: Resources — Takatāpui | A Resource Hub

💪 Exercise: 45-and-a-bit minutes power walking to the library and back! I forget how good a hīkoi around the local neighbourhood can be.

👏 Moment of gratitude: Auckland Libraries offering a wealth of knowledge for free. Thank you, Auckland ratepayers. 🥹

💭 Thought of the day: What is one thing that helps people feel like they belong?

Research consistently shows that Rainbow communities experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicidality, and psychological distress than the general population. Here in Aotearoa, studies such as Youth19 and Counting Ourselves have found disproportionately high rates of mental distress, self-harm, and suicidality among LGBTQIA+ people.

Importantly, the research also tells us that LGBTQIA+ identities are not the cause of these outcomes.

Rather, poorer mental health outcomes are linked to experiences such as discrimination, bullying, rejection, minority stress, and the ongoing emotional labour of having to assess whether a space, workplace, healthcare provider, or community will be safe and accepting.

The encouraging part of this research is that it also identifies what helps.

Supportive whānau. Affirming friendships. Safe schools. Inclusive workplaces. Access to culturally responsive healthcare. Communities where people feel seen, respected, and valued.

As someone studying psychology, I find it striking how often the same conclusion emerges across different areas of mental health research: connection is protective.

One thing I appreciate about initiatives like Sweat with Pride is that they help create visibility, community, and opportunities for people to feel less alone. Sometimes seemingly small acts of inclusion can have a much larger impact than we realise.

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Need to talk?

📲 1737 - Call or text 1737 anytime to talk with a trained counsellor (free, 24/7)

📲 Lifeline Aotearoa - 0800 543 354 or text HELP (4357)

📲 OUTLine Aotearoa - 0800 OUTLINE (688 5463)

💪 Exercise: 30 minutes of BodyPump, courtesy of my mum's Les Mills+ account 🏋️ (fully sweating with pride now...)

👏 Moment of gratitude: Online blogs! (Explained below)

💭 Thought of the day: How do you take action?

For me, I am normally a passive viewer of politics and political action. I always make sure I make informed votes during local and national elections, but otherwise I do very little politically.

But today was the day I decided to change that, as I wrote a submission against the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) bill.

As someone studying psychology, I often think about the strong connection between belonging and wellbeing. People generally do better when they feel accepted, valued, and connected to their communities. When those things are absent, the impacts can be significant.

And on a personal note, I have queer colleagues, peers, and friends that I care a lot about. I'd hate to see their rights (in any shape or form) damaged in relation to this bill.

So, I highly recommend checking out this Submission Guide by Qtopia and taking action on this bill. If you are unsure why this legislation has negative implications for the queer community, this is also covered at length in this article:
Submission Guide: Legislation (Definition of Woman & Man) Amendment Bill — Qtopia NZ

💪 Exercise: 40 minutes walking with my accountability partner 😊

👏 Moment of gratitude: First big walkies since getting sick 5 weeks ago, and lots of manu (birds) out, in spite of the weather!

💭 Thought of the day: What does meaningful inclusion look like to you?

As someone moving further into psychology and mental health spaces, I keep coming back to one simple idea: people thrive when they feel safe to exist as themselves.

For many of our Rainbow whānau, that safety still cannot be assumed - at school, at work, in healthcare settings, or even within the home. So, this month I hope to help raise some vital funds for Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, Rainbow Youth, and InsideOut who do awesome work supporting this space.

He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.