CONNECT with Jazz Thornton
On Tuesday, young New Zealander of the year and Voice of Mentemia Jazz Thornton will be catching up with Sir JK to discuss the importance of connection and sharing ways to connect during lockdowns and alert level changes.
TRIGGER WARNING: This webinar mentions suicide and bullying. Listener discretion is advised.
What will be covered in this session:
Connection has never been as important as it is right now! As we navigate the challenges of Covid-19, connecting with the people in our lives can really make a huge difference to our mental wellbeing.
Join Mental Health Activist, Jazz Thornton, and Sir John Kirwan as they open up the kōrero about how to stay connected to each other (even at a distance), build and maintain close bonds, connect through kindness, and the benefits connection can bring to our overall health and wellbeing. Jazz will share the many ways we can connect or reconnect with the people we care about, and boost those feel-good brain chemicals each day.
About Jazz Thornton
Jazz Thornton is a director, author, mental health advocate and the co-founder of Voices of Hope, a non-profit organisation aimed at breaking the stigma around mental illness. Jazz has struggled with mental distress herself and has a strong passion to help guide people through their own struggles. Her work encourages people to learn strategies to uncover the hope that certain circumstances can sometimes hide.
Jazz has won numerous awards for her web series 'Jessica's Tree', and her important message has gained worldwide recognition through media and international speaking engagements.
Click here to listen to Jazz Thornton on the Open Minded podcast.
More ways to connect with those around you:
The 6 Pillars: Connect. Building close bonds
Not only does social connection trigger oxytocin, the feel-good ‘bonding hormone’, but it’s been linked with better physical health and longevity, and has also been shown to contribute to lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Social connection is something that we need to prioritise so that we can feel well-supported as we go through life. Here are some simple ideas for building those bonds.
Self-care ideas that boost connection
Oxytocin is known as the bonding hormone and it’s the source of those good feelings we get when we feel connected to others.
Making time to connect is really important for mental wellbeing, so it’s worth prioritising.
Maybe it’s creating more opportunities to meet up with friends or just improving the quality of time spent with loved ones. Here are some ideas to try.
Finding ways to stay connected
Despite obstacles that come with COVID-19, there are still simple things we can do to increase our feelings of connection.
It’s a matter of looking for new ways and opportunities to connect with others, prioritising quality time where we can and ensuring that we give people our full attention. This will allow us to keep building meaningful, lasting relationships and reap the benefits that that brings.
Here are some ideas to try.
Try this: Active listening
Active listening is a way to listen and to show you’re listening.
It helps to build rapport and allow someone to feel comfortable talking to you. It also helps other people feel heard and understood.
The concept may sound simple, but it takes some practice.
Here’s our guide to active listening. These aren’t hard and fast rules, but general guidelines to think about and experiment with.
