As the Covid-19 health crisis has had a tremendous effect on our mental health and well-being, "Unknown Together" has been launched to provide support for people.
A collaboration by the United Nations in Thailand, the Thai mental health organisation Knowing Mind and the social change agency Love Frankie, this is an online campaign that provides a carefully curated series of content, information and resources to promote resiliency, well-being and empathy, running until July 31.
The content is co-designed with a network of experts and partners including the Department of Mental Health whose recent study showed a rapid increase in the stress levels of those surveyed.
A series of panel discussions are being held every Sunday from 2pm to 4pm via Facebook Live to explore how the new coronavirus has affected our mental health regarding work, finances, studies, society and one another.
The discussions include psychiatrists and psychologists including Varoth Chotpitayasunondh, spokesperson of the Department of Mental Health, and Dr Soree Pokaeo, director of Thai Counseling Psychology Association.
Joining the experts in creating an engaging discourse around mental health are influencers and opinion leaders who will be helping to craft and amplify messages of self-care, empathy and resilience through their own unique voice and content.
Through a video titled "Challenge", Drag Race Thailand host Pangina Heals invites us to re-examine the labels we assign to one another, ultimately encouraging empathy in our closest relationships, particularly between parent and child.
For her online session, Dujdao Vadhanapakorn, a movement therapist and host of the popular self-therapy podcast RU OK?, guides audiences through the practice of "empathetic listening".
Nobody knows when the Covid-19 crisis will end and how they can best live their lives after this. But they're not alone. The campaign is aimed at the general public, particularly the working population, who may be in need of a safe space to examine the universally uncertain future and explore questions regarding mental health -- an issue that many people are often uncomfortable acknowledging or addressing.
