Soothe anxiety with mind health workout
Three women have launched a new business to help improve mental health training in the workplace.
Jody Burrell, along with long time friends Bop Murdoch and Sarah Tuck, are the founders of CoLiberate and this weekend will present at Festival for the Future in Auckland.
‘‘It’s a mental health gym. You can turn up because you want to train for a new challenge or you can turn up because you’re at the end of your tether and you have to try something,’’ Murdoch said.
‘‘People wait too often to have bad mental health before they act on it, and that’s what we’re trying to change. We can all have a
We glorify stress and we shouldn't.
positive relationship with our mental health and all have the tools to notice when others need help.’’
Through theatre production the women discovered they had a knack for improving peoples’ wellbeing.
The team of three were accepted into Live The Dream - an accelerator program that for young New Zealanders to develop entrepreneurial skills.
During the program Burrell was forced to come to terms with her own anxiety.
‘‘We really noticed we had to change the way we do things for me to feel like I was part of the team,’’ Burrell said.
And that meant putting herself first.
Tuck said: “There were times when people came up to us and said you’re on, and we just said no. Your deadlines can wait, we need five minutes for ourselves.”
The CoLiberate community space on Wellington’s Customhouse Quay hosts hour long sessions focused on mental wellbeing.
‘‘There’s yoga, a share circle to learn from others’ experiences, clay sculpting, reflective writing and creative movement,’’ Burrell said.
‘‘There is a lot of misplaced pride in being stressed. We glorify stress, and we shouldn’t,’’ Tuck added.