Our centresR U OK? Day encourages everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with those who may be struggling with life.
At Barnardos, we marked the day with a ‘share a plate lunch’ and at our Penrith Centre, a ‘breakfast bonanza’. There’s nothing like food to bring people together and sharing a meal allows us all to connect on a more personal level. We also were lucky enough to hear from inspirational gold medal winning Paralympian, Scott Reardon.
Scott Reardon had four tips to help build resilience from his own personal life lessons:
- Identify your support networks and communicate this to them
- Read and practice mindfulness to increase your awareness
- Have gratitude – learn to be positive and grateful for your life and experiences
- Remember to stop and breathe – practice coherence breathing (4 seconds breathe in and 4 seconds breathe out) – this helps you to learn to step away and regroup for a moment
So ask someone RUOK? You don’t need to be an expert to reach out – just a good friend and a great listener. A conversation could change a life.
