{"id":26042,"date":"2026-03-13T11:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T09:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/?p=26042"},"modified":"2026-03-20T14:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:10:06","slug":"nurturing-mental-wellness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/archives\/26042","title":{"rendered":"Nurturing mental wellness\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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As each season brings new challenges and opportunities, the Mental Health Round Table continues to serve as a supportive, reflective, and empowering space for employees. <\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The closing session of 2025 and the first session of 2026 offered two rich, meaningful conversations \u2013 one helping employees navigate the emotional pressures of the festive season, and the other guiding them toward intentional and purpose<\/span>\u2011<\/span>driven\u00a0goal-setting\u00a0for the new year. Together, these sessions formed a continuum of care, promoting emotional balance, clarity, and personal growth within our workplace community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Coping with holiday stress and anxiety<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Mental Health Round Table held on 12 December 2025 created a welcoming environment for employees to openly explore the pressures associated with the festive season. With the theme,\u00a0\u201cCoping with holiday stress and anxiety\u201d,\u00a0the discussion unpacked common emotional challenges that arise during this time, including financial demands, family dynamics, heightened social expectations, and the general busyness of year<\/span>\u2011<\/span>end. These factors often contribute to increased stress and\u00a0feelings of being\u00a0emotionally\u00a0overwhelmed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Employees were guided through practical strategies for managing festive<\/span>\u2011<\/span>season stress, including setting healthy boundaries, adopting self<\/span>\u2011<\/span>care practices, and adjusting expectations to\u00a0maintain\u00a0emotional balance. This session encouraged individuals to prioritise their mental wellbeing during a period that can be both joyful and emotionally demanding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Facilitator<\/span><\/b>: Liana Henning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Topic<\/span><\/b>: Coping with holiday stress and anxiety<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Attendees<\/span><\/b>: 62<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Starting the year with intention and purpose <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first Mental Health Round Table of 2026, held on 23 January, centred on the theme,\u00a0\u201cGoal-setting\u00a0and intentionality\u201d. Facilitated by Lyra Health, the session encouraged employees to begin their year with clarity and purpose.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Participants explored how intentional thinking shapes long<\/span>\u2011<\/span>term success, both personally and professionally, and how aligning daily actions with one\u2019s values can lead to more fulfilling outcomes. The conversation highlighted practical goal<\/span>\u2011<\/span>setting tools, techniques to break large goals into achievable steps, and strategies for sustaining motivation throughout the year. The session created a\u00a0reflective and empowering start to 2026, equipping attendees with tools to move forward with confidence and focus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Facilitator<\/span><\/b>: Lyra Health<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Topic<\/span><\/b>: Goal-setting and intentionality<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Attendees<\/span><\/b>: 207<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout & resilience <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As we move further into 2026, the Mental Health Round Table series continues to evolve in response to the needs and realities of our workforce. In February 2026 we focused on a topic that resonates deeply across all levels of the organisation:\u00a0burnout and resilience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In a year where personal expectations, work pressures, and the pace of life can feel unrelenting, this session aimed to provide employees with a deeper understanding of burnout, what it looks like, how it develops, and how to identify early warning signs. Equally important, the session explored practical ways to build resilience, restore balance, and maintain wellbeing in demanding environments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Our Mental Health Round Tables offer employees a safe space to reflect, learn, and gain actionable tools for managing emotional fatigue while protecting their mental health. These session form part of our continued commitment to promoting a culture of empathy, care, and sustainable wellbeing across our organisation. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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As each season brings new challenges and opportunities, the Mental Health Round Table continues to serve as a supportive, reflective, and empowering space for employees. The closing session of 2025 and the first session of 2026 offered two rich, meaningful conversations \u2013 one helping employees navigate the emotional pressures of the festive season, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[383],"tags":[373],"class_list":["post-26042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-wellness-afrocentric17","tag-afrocentric17"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26042"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26210,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26042\/revisions\/26210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}