Our second briefing event took place in Senedd Cymru, on 26 March, sponsored by Julie Morgan MS and supported by Sarah Murphy MS, Welsh Government Minister for Mental Health & Wellbeing. Jason Harrold was our MC.
Julie Morgan opened the event, with Barbara Chidgey speaking next positioning the emotional health agenda as a critical element to prevent mental illness.
Other contributors were Dr Jen Daffin on behalf of Hapus, Public Health Wales and Platfform Wellbeing.
Nav Masani, our clinical lead, took over from Jen and Hamed and Hessam Amiri joined us on film.
The support from Julie and Sarah is wonderful – and so important. We are developing an essential mission, campaign and focus on emotional health and their belief in and support for our mission is fantastic – thank you so much.
With 1.2 million of us in Wales living with at least one longstanding illness, it surely must be that every single adult in Wales is impacted – either that they themselves live with illness or they live alongside someone who does.
Research shows clearly that there is a direct correlation between talking about our feelings arising from illness and much better management of chronic illness and faster recovery from an acute crisis.
However, also supported by research, we don’t tend to talk about our feelings!
This is why Daring to Dream is encouraging us all to talk more about our feelings and to also be a safe space for others to talk about their feelings to us as well.
In hospitals, when patients and families are at their most vulnerable, we are making ‘emotional refuges’- we are creating #spacestotalk where not only clinical advice can be discussed, but also families can support each other emotionally. Our spaces offer privacy, comfort, a place to cry or even a place to be alone, reflect and compose oneself as well as to hear and discuss clinical updates and advice.
Our very sincere thanks to everyone who attended on 26 March and for all their support and encouragement. Thank you so much too to Julie Morgan and Sarah Murphy.
