Equip Mental Health Services

24/10/2025

As we come to the end of a tense week for many, you might be feeling anxious.

What is happening when you’re anxious or feel panicky?

When you’re anxious or scared, your body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.

In situations of real danger, this release of hormones can help you take action to stay safe. But this release doesn’t operate on a scale system, so it means that you can feel symptoms of anxiety, even when you are safe. Sometimes, this increase in stress hormones can be sudden and so intense that it causes a panic attack.

Everyone experiences anxiety differently, and there are heaps of ways to manage anxiety in the long term. But what can you do to deal with anxiety in the here and now, if you don’t already have a plan or previous experiences to recognise your symptoms and triggers?

Have a look through these suggestions and let us know if there’s something in particular that works for you.

Our thoughts are with everyone who has had a particularly rough week - especially those who’ve lost a day’s pay due to strikes or are affected by severe weather events.

Enjoy the long weekend!

16/10/2025

Are we all remembering to take micro breaks during the work day, whether you're working from home or in the office?

It's so important to rest your eyes and stretch your body. But moving your body isn’t just exercise - it clears the head and helps improve your mood, too.

So this is your reminder. E tu - stand up, stretch, shift your gaze and take that reset.

15/10/2025

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa.

Let us all keep close together, not wide apart.

Māori Proverb, Daily Inspo, Quote of the Day, Mental Health is Real, Mental Wellness, Healing Journey, Words to Live By, Neurodivergent, Mental Wellness, Positive Vibes, Healing Journey, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Aoteroa New Zealand, Tautoko, Whakatauki

13/10/2025

Connections keep us steady. But it's one thing to hear people telling us to keep in touch with others and another to take action and make it happen. So here's an idea...

Every Tuesday once the Monday grind is over and before the Wednesday hump is here - (or it could be any day really), have a time booked in your calendar to remind you to call someone. Make sure it's someone who lifts your spirits, and leaves you with a smile on your face.

So pick up the phone and call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Even a short kōrero counts AND... if they don't pick up - kei te pai tērā - send them a message to say you were thinking of them!

So, add a recurring appointment to your calendar now and let us know who you'll reach out to today.

12/10/2025

That’s a wrap on Mental Health Awareness Week, but… the journey continues and we honour all of you who leaned in, showed kindness, and made space to connect 🌱

So let’s keep going! Because mental health awareness needs to be every day, of every month!

09/10/2025

Keep Learning /Me Ako Tonu for Mental Health Awareness Week!

At Equip, Mental Health Awareness Week is every day. So this we’ve put some practical suggestions together for how to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day - ia rā, ia rā. We hope they'll inspire you to make it an everyday thing too!

But today is also World Mental Health Day and we wanted to talk about resilience. Resilience isn’t about never feeling stressed or knocked down - it’s about how we respond when we do. Resilience grows through small, consistent actions like reaching out for support, staying connected to what grounds us, and practising self-kindness when things get tough. Like a muscle, the more we use it, the stronger it gets. So keep going, and me ako tonu 💚

Here are some of the ways you can keep learning today:

⌁ Join the waitlist for the Equip Mental Health First Aid Workshop https://www.equip.net.nz/mental-health-first-aid
⌁ Learn the National Anthem in Te Reo
⌁ Apply to upskill through distance learning or consider kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face)
⌁ Find a micro course online in mindfulness, seed saving, local ecology or a mahi / work related courses – the internet is your oyster!
⌁ Find a new recipe every week!
⌁ Head to our website for inspiration on what to read!
⌁ Listen to a new podcast and keep a playlist of podcasts to come back to. You’ll find a list of podcasts to get started with in our Wellness Hub https://www.equip.net.nz/resources/podcasts
⌁ Create a “book swap”. Ask each person to bring a book
⌁ Karakia to start your day, open or close a meeting with. Find a list of commonly used karakia here https://www.equip.net.nz/resources/karakia
⌁ Increase your te reo Māori vocab with apps like Kupu or Drops. Borrow Māori Made Easy from your library or check for local beginner classes.
⌁ Find a parenting course. We can recommend The Parenting Place to get you started
⌁ ‘How to Draw a….’ Youtube tutorials open a window to a new creative you! You can search on almost anything from ‘How to draw a realistic mountain scene’ to ‘How to draw a butterfly’ to ‘How to draw realistic facial features’

Let us know what else we should add!

08/10/2025

Take Notice/Me Aro Tonu for Mental Health Awareness Week!

For everyone here at Equip, Mental Health Awareness Week is every day. So this we’ve put some practical suggestions together for how to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day - ia rā, ia rā. We hope they'll inspire you to make it an everyday thing too!

Here are some of the ways you can take notice today:

⌁ Observe.

Keep a “journal” for the week. Each day, jot down one small detail you notice but might otherwise overlook. You could do this activity with a friend and meet or call each other to talk about what you note down through the week. It’s a good activity to involve the whanau in as well and something you can all talk about at the dinner table.

Photography at home. Carry a camera or use your phone camera to walk through your garden or a local park. Watch how the light changes: early morning sun, dappled shade, shadows shifting. Take photographs of things that catch your eye – bark, leaves, spider webs, patterns in soil

⌁ Listen.

Make a new play list of music, waiata or hymns. Listen to the words and the meaning behind them. How do they make you feel? What do you think the artist was trying to convey

Sit quietly for 5 minutes outside, or by an open window. Notice the sounds you hear – cars, birds, wind, voices, and the feelings in your body – temperature, tension, softening

⌁ Gratitude.

Make a list of all the things you’re grateful. Head to the Equip wellness hub for some helpful prompts.

For more ideas on bringing the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day, head to https://www.equip.net.nz/korero/top-up-together-mental-health-awareness-week-2025

Let us know what else we should add

Top Up Together for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025! MHAW runs from 6 to 12 October 2025 and this years theme encourages us to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your life (and your workplace or whanau). We've put some practical, local and seasonal suggestions together for how to bring the Five...

07/10/2025

This is on today e te whānau!

Come and join us from 11.00am - 1.00pm at Parrs Park in Glen Eden

Join Equip for a fun and community focussed Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 event hosted by Waitakere Shared Vision

07/10/2025

Be Active/Me Kori Tonu for Mental Health Awareness Week!

For everyone here at Equip, Mental Health Awareness Week is every day. So this we’ve put some practical suggestions together for how to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day - ia rā, ia rā!

We hope they'll inspire you to make it an everyday thing too! Here are some of the ways you can move your body today:

⌁ Join Equip TODAY at the Steps for Strengths, Fun Run or Walk at Parrs Park in Glen Eden - Wed 8 October from 11.00am
⌁ Head into the māra (garden). Plant kūmara or other seasonal produce in your garden or a community plot. Digging, preparing soil, planting moves your body and connects you to the land. You'll find the Tui planting guide for October and a gardening by the moon cycles guide from Koanga on our website!
⌁ Forage for rongoā (traditional native medicinal plants) in your backyard or the nearest reserve. Use a plant identification app, find a book at the library or head to the bookshop. We have an identification guide you can download on our website too!
⌁ Go for a gentle walk or jog along your local reserve, beach or bush track
⌁ Try a casual walk and talk with a colleague or friend instead of sitting in a café
⌁ Join one of the many walking groups at Walking New Zealand
⌁ Do a mini circuit in your backyard or living room: 10 squats, 10 stretches, 10 breaths, repeat 3 times.
⌁ Sign up to a yoga class or something more energetic if you will.

For more ideas on bringing the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day, head to https://www.equip.net.nz/korero/top-up-together-mental-health-awareness-week-2025

Let us know what else we should add!

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand

06/10/2025

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Five Ways to Wellbeing
Give/Tukua

For everyone here at Equip, Mental Health Awareness Week is every day. So this MHAW, we’ve put some practical suggestions together for how to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day - ia ra, ia ra. We hope they will inspire you to make it an every day thing too.

Here are some of the ways you can give today:

⌁ Help at your community garden.
⌁ Volunteer for a restoration project or planting day with www.pestfreekaipatiki.org.nz
⌁ Help a neighbour, rangatahi, or local group. It could be as simple as sitting with someone over a cup of tea.
⌁ Offer to babysit, mow a lawn, or bring someone lunch
⌁ Leave water dishes out for native birds or wildlife, especially if it’s dry in your area
⌁ Organise a dog walking group in your neighbourhood
⌁ Look into volunteering at a local shelter or find out what they might need. Some shelters have drives where they ask for old towels and blankets - reach out to see how you could help.
⌁ Take a look at what local events are coming up with Forest & Bird
⌁ Start a collection for upcoming Christmas donation drives. Share it with your community to see what others would like to contribute. This is an activity you could involve your tamariki in too.
⌁ Become a member - sometimes called a ‘friend of the gallery’ at your local art gallery. Volunteering at community art centres means they can open for longer or better hours and is not just good for the artists but also good for the volunteers who get to connect with visitors.
⌁ Start a beginner’s Dungeons & Dragons group and help those who don’t know how to get started, meet other players

For more ideas for bringing the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day, head to https://www.equip.net.nz/korero/top-up-together-mental-health-awareness-week-2025

Let us know what else we should add!

05/10/2025

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Five Ways to Wellbeing
Connect/Me Whakawhanaunga

For everyone here at Equip, Mental Health Awareness Week is every day. So this MHAW, we’ve put some practical suggestions together for how to bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your every day - ia ra, ia ra. We hope they will inspire you to make it an every day thing too.

Here are some of the ways you can connect with others today:

⌁ Message someone you haven't heard from in a while
⌁ Host a shared morning tea or lunch.
⌁Walk and talk (or in silence!) with a neighbour.
⌁ Have a potluck dinner, bbq or lunch.
⌁ Have a potluck games night (or day)
⌁ Host a whanau hui
⌁ Join a local gardening, book, photography or walking club
⌁ Ask a friend, your whānau or hoamahi what the best thing about their day was and listen with interest
⌁ Take someone to visit Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill
⌁ Visit Eden Garden in Mount Eden
⌁ Cook and Kai (eat) - host a pretend cooking show with friends
⌁ Forest / ngahere walk with rongoā learning
⌁ Head to a library or community centre pop-up
⌁ Grab a friend and head to the park to draw
⌁ Support a local artist by visiting an exhibition
⌁ Take a friend or the kids to the Auckland Art Gallery
⌁ Volunteer for a clean up or restoration planting
⌁ Opshop till you drop! Grab a friend and go on an opshop mission!

For more ideas for connecting with others, head to https://www.equip.net.nz/korero/top-up-together-mental-health-awareness-week-2025

Let us know what else we should add!

05/10/2025

This Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 , Equip are taking part in the Steps for Strength Fun Run hosted by Waitakere Shared Vision. Come and join us to Top Up Together!

Wed 8 October
11.00am - 1.00pm
Parrs Park, Glen Eden

Join Equip for a fun and community focussed Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 event hosted by Waitakere Shared Vision