Ten tips for very merry mental healthiness
It’s important to ensure that you look after yourself as we head into Christmas. David Westgate shares ten tips on the lighter side to good mental health this holiday season.
1. Do not stress about putting on five kilos on Christmas Day. It helps in deciding on New Year’s resolutions.
2. Paul Newman once said, “24-beers in a carton, 24-hours in day. Coincidence? I think not.” Paul was joking folks, just joking.
3. If friends and family beat you to all the lounges and beds after lunch, find the fattest of them and lie on them instead.
4. Shopping centres on Christmas Eve are not for the faint-hearted. Avoid at all costs.
5. The office Christmas party is littered with minefields and people carrying iPhones (with cameras). Be aware, very aware.
6. Over the fence is six and out, it’s one-hand off the roof and no bowling bouncers at the littlies.
7. If you wouldn’t wear it on Boxing Day, don’t wear it on Christmas Day. Have some pride.
8. No grumbling if you have to sit beside granny. She probably thinks you’re a bore too.
9. Even the biggest human stomach can only hold 3-kilos of prawns at a time.
10. A hand-made gift is never forgotten. Get whittling.
Merry Christmas everyone.
David West has worked in advertising for 35-years. All while suffering from a rollercoaster-like mental illness known as bipolar 1.
He knows what it’s like to be driven by anxieties so strong he’s sacrificed countless weekends to needless work; to be so sleep deprived, his keyboard sometimes resembles a soft downy pillow, and to perform brilliantly in a boardroom one moment, only to find himself crying quietly in a toilet cubicle the next. David is a keynote speaker for the Black Dog Institute and has spoken to organisations such as the NSW Law Society Australian Road Transport Industry, the Treasury and even the Friends and Family of Missing People Police Unit. He’s also a qualified instructor for Mental Health First Aid, serves on an action group for the Australian insurer TAL, has been interviewed by the Australian Financial Review, appeared on the SBS show Insight and has created a workplace program, Club20.
