Supporting yourself

Taking action to support your mental wellbeing can look different for everyone. You may prefer to connect with others in your community, a service provider or work on a few calming or relaxation techniques by yourself at home. In fact, you may already have your ways of looking after your mental wellbeing however if this is new to you, there are online resources available in multiple languages that you may find helpful.

This Way Up has a list of Coping Tools available in several languages. These include:

• Ways to express yourself
• Steps for calming your emotions
• Controlled breathing
• A guide to good sleep and
• Creating your own personal Self-Care Plan.

If you are feeling unsure or nervous about asking for help know that you are not alone. Not all services may feel right for you and it is ok to do some research before you choose a service, a doctor, or health professional. If it is not an emergency, take some time and ask questions.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Support Services are specifically designed to respect cultural backgrounds and beliefs and often include support staff who are bi-lingual or have their own personal lived experiences as refugees or migrants.

There are a few ways support services can assist you including but not limited to:

• Finding appropriate housing
• Finding work
• If you are new to Australia and need help finding appropriate health care
• Access to family support or counselling
• Access to a translator
• Link into community groups
• Legal advice

If you are looking for help but haven’t been able to find the right service a good place to start is Embrace Multicultural Mental Health. Embrace Mental Health has a great list of services around Australia for people who identify as someone from a culturally diverse community.