GUWAHATI: MIND India, Institute of Positive Mental Health & Research, one of the first bodies in the North Eastern Region of India, to address the cause of positive mental health and wellbeing, organised a two-day Consultative Meet on the theme “MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE: Embedding Wellbeing in Everyday Life" held on September 8 and 9, 2023 in Guwahati.
The event was inaugurated by Chief Guest Indrani Laskar, Joint Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Assam. Laskar a mindfulness practitioner herself, talked about the importance of meditation for young people to reduce anxiety and stress. She emphasized that everyone with mental health issues has the right to live, work, and receive treatment in the community, as far as possible.
Prof. Raghu Raghavan, Professor of Mental Health at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK in his keynote speech focussed on emotional wellbeing. He talked about the importance of Mental Health Literacy to reduce stigma and Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration (IDC) on mental health to ensure the delivery of safe, high quality and well-coordinated health care. He said, “Not symptomizing every emotion and normalising expression of different emotions”.
Dr. Sangeeta Goswami, Counselling Psychologist and President of MIND India in her welcome address shared that there are opportunities to embed well-being in everyday life by incorporating well-being in any activity especially while pursuing non-mental health projects without significant additional resource costs by Government and Non-Governmental Agencies. She concentrated on Sustainable Development Goal 3, which focuses on “Good Health and Wellbeing”, emphasising the importance of ensuring healthy life and promoting wellbeing for people of all ages – a fundamental aspect of sustainable development.
The consultative meeting was attended by all stakeholders comprising of professionals from various Universities, academic institutions, Governmental and non-governmental organizations, national and international agencies, caregivers and community-based organizations. The event helped create a platform for cross-learning and sharing experiences and insights on psycho-social, cultural and economic aspects and explore opportunities for collaboration and coordination among various stakeholders so that we can enhance the wellbeing of people, especially in the North Eastern States of India.
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