Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month!
By Olivia Lancaster
We hope you enjoyed Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month!
To celebrate, AALEAD attended the Asian Festival on Main in Virginia and were their official nonprofit partner this year! AALEAD received a donation of $3,500!
We also observed AALEAD’s 25th anniversary with a 25th Anniversary Gala. We were so happy to see everyone who could attend and loved celebrating with such an amazing group of people! Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout the event.
Since May is also Mental Health Awareness month, AALEAD also held an AAHI mental health event for youth and families. Mental health is defined as our emotional, social, and psychological well-being that affects how we think, feel, and act in our everyday lives. (SAMHSA) Maintaining our mental health is so important because a healthy mind is just as crucial to our lives as a healthy body is. Mental health allows people to cope with stress, sustain and develop good relationships, increase self-esteem, and more.
Sometimes, working on mental health can seem like a difficult task when life becomes busy and tiring. Here are some simple methods of practicing self-care to maintain mental health:
- START WITH BASIC NEEDS
- Make sure you’re getting enough sleep – at least 8 hours!
- Try to spend time outside for fresh air if you can.
- Make sure you’re eating regularly and drinking 4- 6 cups of water daily!
- DO THINGS THAT RELIEVE STRESS
- Stress-relief can come in any form, just as long as it does alleviate some stress or makes you happy. You can journal, watch a movie, go on a hike, play with a pet, doodle, etc.
- STAY CONNECTED
- It is totally normal for there to be times when you want alone time, but consistently reaching out to people you love and trust can help you process and manage your emotions or at least offer a distraction to stressors.
- PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
- Set goals that you feel are achievable and say “no” to tasks if you feel like you’re taking on too much.
- Reflect on what you accomplished by the end of the day, not on what you weren’t able to do.
- Remind yourself of the things you are grateful for.
SOURCES: