1 in 5 New Zealanders experience mental illness in their lifetime. Maybe this is you, maybe this is one of your friends or family.

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The most effective long term solution for this is a therapy of some kind, which if gone weekly for one year can cost more than the average annual salary in NZ. This is a huge barrier for most New Zealanders and prevents people from getting the help they need, especially our youth, which have the highest suicide rate in the world.

 

This is why I have created Note to Self. With my own experience and research, I have created a three-part project that aims to help  New Zealanders understand why and how they are feeling through the use of

cognitive behavioural theory (CBT).

 

I conducted an interview with Gwendoline Smith, an experienced and well known Clinical Psychologist, which I have published inside a book. The questions I asked were very specific and targeted at what I believe are the main areas of concern for New Zealanders.

 

The idea is that these publications will be dispersed

across cafes and shops across New Zealand so that the conversation is being had more frequently and becomes more and more accepted in society.

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60% of youth are active social media users. So an Instagram page for my topic is an incredibly valuable opportunity to reach this demographic and casually implement CBT methods into their daily lives. I have started to collate content taken from my interview with Gwendoline and other resources to post to my account, @n____o____t____e, and will continue to do so.

 

I called my project Note to Self because we need to try and implement as much critical thinking about our thoughts as possible so we eventually become more in control of how we think.

 

There is no one solution to better mental health, but by giving people a safe space and learning tool that will always be there for them, Note to Self can help.