Manulife Joins Hands with Mind HK

The 2024 Paris Olympics brought a wave of excitement for sports and sportsmanship to the public. Meanwhile, athletes’ mental well-being has also gained wide attention. To achieve excellent results, in addition to rigorous training, maintaining good mental health is equally important.

The International Stress Awareness Day falls on the first Wednesday of each November. This year, we have specially organized the first event of "More Than a Label" Listening to Yourself storytelling series with Mind HK to celebrate the occasion!

At the English session on 6 Nov and Cantonese session on 21 Nov, Mind HK ambassadors joined the co-founders of Mind the Waves and Hong Kong Olympians Camille Cheng and Stephanie Au where they shared their mental health journeys, including recovery from conditions like anxiety, depression, and stress, the connection between sports and mental health, and how sports can help alleviate stress.

Traditionally, men are stereotyped by society as strong and independent. However, when emotions strike, choosing to silently endure them only increases stress and suffering. Teenagers, who are in a crucial stage of self-identity and growth, are particularly vulnerable to pressures from school, family, and society, which can make their mental health struggles worse.

Through the "More Than a Label" Listening to Yourself storytelling event #2, co-organized with Mind HK and Teen’s Key, we encouraged men and teenagers to more bravely express their feelings and needs, breaking the stigma surrounding men's mental health in society.

You may have heard of the negative labels associated with mental health. These labels not only affect others but also stigmatize mental health. Supported by Manulife, the Mind HK "More Than a Label" program aims to train individuals who have experienced mental health problems to become Mind HK Ambassadors and to share their lived experiences. We hope to increase public awareness and concern about mental health, working together to "kick out the labels"!

The training is conducted in Cantonese and includes basic knowledge of mental health, ways to avoid stigma and harm, and how to address public events and the media, and more.

Our family of origin influences us to varying degrees. Understanding more about our family of origin can help us explore our inner thoughts, break out of negative cycles, and take better care of our emotions.

We invited our health ambassador and a cross-media content creator Hui Yin to share his personal experiences. Opal, Mind HK’s clinical advisor and counseling psychologist, also shared her professional insights on how the family of origin influences personality, family interactions and communication, and intergenerational transmission. This helped participants better care for their own emotions.

Everyone experiences emotional highs and lows, but how should we properly handle it when we or those around us feel sad? We collaborated with Mind HK to organize our first Your Mental Health Matters event to help participants understand how to manage their own and others' emotional needs.

As our very first public awareness event, we specially invited renowned linguistic scholar-turned-TV host, Benjamin Au Yeung (Ben Sir) to share his "Mental Fridge" concept, encouraging everyone to stock up on their "Mental Food" by focusing on what they value to enhance their resilience and recharge themselves when needed. Additionally, Mind HK's CEO and clinical psychologist Dr. Candice Powell, and a clinical advisor and counseling psychologist, Opal shared professional insights on emotion management. A Mind HK ambassador, Phoebe also shared her personal recovery journey and the challenges she has encountered.