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At GujuMemes, we are committed to discussing topics and sharing resources which could help our followers and community. In 2019, there were 5,691 suicides registered in England and Wales and around 75% of those were men. The 10th September will mark World Suicide Prevention day, which is organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). 

The recent death of Sushant Singh Rajput sent shockwaves through our community and opened up conversations about Mental Health awareness. We understand that sometimes, discussing Mental Health and its complexities is often not taken as seriously as we would like in the Asian community due to individual and societal pressures. We would like to use our platform to spread awareness. 

We must stress that we are not professionals, however what we can do is direct you to various resources, if you are not sure where to start, or simply if you would like to learn more and donate to the causes.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND IN IMMEDIATE CONCERN, IT IS ADVISABLE YOU FIRST SEEK ADVICE OF A GP, COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH TEAM OR YOUR LOCAL A&E.

Some Notable Organisations:

Mind

Website: https://www.mind.org.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindcharity/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindCharity
Donation: https://www.mind.org.uk/donate/donation-appeal-2020/

Contact: 0300 123 3393 

Mental Health Foundation

Website: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ and https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/b/black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-bame-communities 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentalhealthfoundation/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mentalhealth
Donation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/donate

Rethink Mental Illness 

Website: https://www.rethink.org/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentalhealthfoundation/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rethink_
Donation: https://my.rethink.org/?_ga=2.33228158.1905664459.1591973218-663819602.1591973218
Contact: https://www.rethink.org/help-in-your-area/services/  

Anxiety UK

Website: http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anxietyukofficial/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnxietyUK
Donation: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-involved/make-a-donation/

Contact: 03444 775 774 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 10pm; Saturday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm 

SANE

Website: www.sane.org.uk/support
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charitysane/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharitySANE
Donation: http://www.sane.org.uk/how_you_can_help/

Contact: 0300 304 7000 (daily, 4.30pm to 10.30pm)

Other:

NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
Shout Crisis Text Line: For support in a crisis, Text Shout to 85258.
Family Lives: https://www.familylives.org.uk/about/

Books:

For children: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/m/mental-health-awareness/
For teens: http://www.penguinteen.com/10-books-to-read-during-mental-health-awareness-month/ 
List: https://bookriot.com/2016/05/31/14-books-read-mental-health-awareness/ 

Podcast:

https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health-podcast
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/06/18/seven-podcasts-for-mental-health/#f382490233f8
https://ivmpodcasts.com/marbles-lost-and-found-episode-list

Instagram:

@asianmentalhealthproject
@asianmentalhealthcollective
@southasiansmh

We would like to invite our followers to share resources that we may not have included, that have helped you in the past.

We are also interested in hearing from yourselves (which we are happy to keep anonymous), on your personal experiences with Mental Health, how you are coping and the support you have received, in the hope that these experiences will inspire others to seek help and to highlight that asking for help is not a sign of weakness! We 100% encourage it. 

If you are a professional, we are also happy to add your resources and details to this blog. 

Please send us a DM and we will be in touch.

GujuMemes. 

#WorldSuicidePreventionDay #IASP #IASP2020 #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthSupport #WSPD2020 #SuicidePrevention

On June 1st 2020, we posted on Instagram in reaction to the senseless murder of George Floyd and #BlackLivesMatter. We know this isn’t enough. We know this is a movement in time – not a moment. 5 months later, we know we must continue to fight for our Black brothers and sisters to ensure they not only receive equality, but justice too. You will have heard of Breonna Taylor; the cops who murdered her have still not been arrested. 

We welcomed all comments on the post – after all, we are here to start a conversation about topics that may be uncomfortable to discuss, but where you can also learn and educate yourselves and others. 

You will have seen people say, ‘But All Lives Matter too’. That is true, but all lives cannot matter until Black lives matter. All lives INCLUDE Black lives. That is a fact and we must understand that we (as a Gujarati community), hold privileges that others fight for daily. We are in no way diminishing our own struggles as a community – and these are things we will be discussing in the future – but we need to understand the problem that is affecting millions of people now and every day.

The incidents are also not isolated and not confined to America. Racial injustices continue to occur all over the world, and closer to home in the UK too. Think to the lives of Julian Cole, Mark Duggan, Stephen Lawrence, Sarah Reed, Shukri Abdi and more recently Belly Mujinga. This list sadly goes on. If you are not aware of these cases, we urge you to research and educate yourselves about the systemic racism within the institutions that were supposed to protect and provide justice for these lives. Why is it that for Black lives, protests and petitions are the only way institutions will listen – even then, rarely?

However, we know that we cannot only hold the institutions accountable when it comes to racial inequality. We echo our Instagram post when we say that the buck starts with us, at home. Racism and racist thoughts do occur in our community, in our own families – whether consciously or sub-consciously. How would your parents feel if you were to bring a Black partner home? Ask them, see how they respond. What are the perceptions that your family or friends have of Black people in general? We can almost certainly answer this one ourselves. Non-black people can sometimes perpetuate anti-blackness in other ways; engaging in micro-aggressions/stereotyping in social situations or the workplace to abusing hair styles and language, the latter two whereby Black people are berated, but others praised. It isn’t easy to challenge our elders’ way of thinking, but if you haven’t, try to open the conversation and have a dialogue about what is going on in the world and why it is so important. 

Shut down racist comments when you hear them. Speak up about why it is wrong. Correct their negative perceptions. We’ve all seen the quote by Angela Y. Davis, a political activist and scholar: ‘‘In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.’’ 

Some of the comments we received in our Instagram post were about how these were ‘riots’ and why are we supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement when looting and rioting was occurring? We of course do not condone any violence, but if that is all that was taken from what is going on in the world and these protests (that is what they are), then you have not yet recognised your own privilege or you are yet to fully understand the impact of police brutality and racial injustices. Please remember – just because you are not directly affected by the many forms of injustices occurring in the world, doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. In any large movement, there will always be a few people who will incite chaos. The media will always show this over the peaceful protesting that FAR outweigh any negative behaviours. Did you know that many cities around the world are still peacefully protesting – the media just haven’t shown it because it doesn’t fit their narrative. Concentrate on the positives and give the spotlight back to those who truly require it.

So speaking of aiming the spotlight in the right direction: justice. If you’re still unsure of how to help fight the cause, then below are a list of (non-exhaustive) resources to guide you. These resources are UK and US focussed, but we would be happy to compile and publish resources from our community, for support in other countries. 

We are aware that there are a number of issues that impact the Gujarati community, and we will do our best to address them as time goes on. The recent atrocities have really brought to light how much more we can be doing to raise awareness and educate the community on these matters (or words to that effect).

Resources:

Petitions*:

Note: change.org petitions are NOT considered in parliamentary discussions, however we have included some below if we cannot find the parliamentary one. 

*The petitions may have reached their goal before posting.

Donation links:

Websites (which also include donation areas):

Other:

Not sure where to start? Here are three books which we recommend:

IT’S HERE! @GUJUDATES is here!! After literally thousands of messages from so many of you, we’ve created @gujudates – a place for Gujarati singles from all over the world to register for events, speed dating, socials and meet ups. This is an incredible opportunity for you to meet like minded, single Gujaratis – and who knows, the love of your life could be at one of our events! .

Registration is free, and events will be announced based on demand – so spread the word far and wide and keep an eye out for upcoming events.. you don’t wanna miss an opportunity like this! Follow @gujudates and register for FREE now! We’ll do a better job then that Masi/Masa who’s trying to fix you up with a random from the samaj 😉