00:07 - Simon Order (Host)

Welcome to the Enabled Podcast. I'm your host, Simon Order. On the Enabled podcast, we talk all things, all abilities, inclusion, diversity and, most importantly, accessibility. Our goal is to bring you the stories of lived experience, the amazing projects, the trials, the tribulations and much more from the All Abilities Enabled community. The Enabled podcast is brought to you by the Ability Heroes Organisation. On today's episode, we're very lucky to chat with 2023 RAC Western Australia Volunteer of the Year Award winner, rahul Seth.

Rahul founded Activate Mental Health and leads a team of 30 volunteers who deliver over 360 events each year to help reduce isolation for people with mental health challenges. Rahul promotes the value of volunteering and the importance of community and social connection for positive mental wellbeing. Rahul believes the key to mental health recovery is through developing social connections. Rahul, welcome to the Enabled podcast. It's wonderful to have you here. So you talk a lot about the concept of community and how community plays a crucial role in improving mental health and supporting mental health recovery. What do you think are some of the key aspects that make a community beneficial in this context?

01:41 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

I think community stems back to our natural human instincts. So one of the things I like to say to people is that we've never really moved on from the tribal days of where we're hunters and gatherers helping each other out for the tribe. The analogy I like using is how many people does it take to get your breakfast on the table? So it's like the people that grow it, people refine it, people that package it, send it through the distribution channels, go to Kohl's to stack it up, buy it off the shelf and get it there and you're looking at quite a crew of 50 people. And that's before you think about the bowl, the cereal's in the table, that the bowl's on and the house is doing.

It's like everything we do in life is interconnected and often the most root cause of most mental health issues is loneliness and stuff. So for me, community is the opposite of loneliness finding people that you can bond with and share ideals together. This is a quote from Derring Greatley. Connection is why we're here. We're hardwired to connect with others. It's what gives us meaning and purpose with our lives, and without it there is suffering. So I think in general, when it comes to mental health, a lot of people promote the medical model of mental health, like getting medication, psychiatry and psychology. The core thing that most people are looking for is just a group of people that they can connect with and share ideals together.

03:20 - Simon Order (Host)

So I love that quote that you gave there. In your experience, what are some specific examples of communities or support networks that have been particularly effective in helping individuals with mental health challenges? What would you say are the key elements that make these communities so successful?

03:37 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

Peer support groups are generally a great way to start to find people who band together and have common ideals. But basically, for me, any group that's a healthy group that brings people together, it's going to be good for your mental well-being, as long as it doesn't involve drugs, alcohol and risky behaviours. Any group of people that you can bond with and share common experiences together is good for your mental well-being. Some of the success factors in why groups do so well is that they're inclusive and allow people from all backgrounds to come together. They're welcoming and they're also a safe space as well.

04:18 - Simon Order (Host)

So we're back with Rahul Seth. Rahul, how can individuals facing mental health issues find creative support communities that really align with their needs and goals? What advice would you give to people looking to connect with like-minded individuals?

04:35 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

One of the great ways for people to connect and to find communities that they can belong to is obviously social media, and there are wonderful platforms that you can use, such as meetupcom or Facebook groups Just a matter of searching and finding those groups that you can belong to. Government websites also have a very good list. I know the WA Mental Health Commission has got a lot of groups listed on there that you can go and join. But the one piece of advice I give to people is that if you can't find a community that you're looking for that meets your needs, it's never been easier to set up your own community. You know, getting a subscription to meetupcom and just advertising events is a great way to bring people together.

05:17 - Simon Order (Host)

Yeah. So if you can't find your community, the message is to create one Yep, and that's empowering in itself. I guess so many people might feel isolated or stigmatized when dealing with their mental health challenges. How can communities reduce that stigma surrounding mental health and create a more inclusive and understanding environment?

05:40 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

Communities can come together and promote a safe and inclusive culture about how it's okay to express feelings and thoughts and ideals, and that's one of the big benefits of having support groups is that they provide that welcoming space that people can chat. Safe spaces, like having meeting rooms, is one really key thing, especially for support groups, that you need to make people feel like it's an okay space to talk together. So finding meeting rooms or board rooms that you can access is very beneficial, and something I've learned recent of late is the power of storytelling and learning from other people what got them through their issues and how do they come on the other side together.

06:20 - Simon Order (Host)

Oh, that sounds awesome. That's exactly what we do here on the Enabled podcast. We want to hear people's stories. So one thing about podcasting is come out of the digital age, and the digital age is transformed the way we connect with others. How has technology and social media impacted the formation and maintenance of mental health communities? What are the pros and cons of these virtual communities?

06:43 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

One of the things that it comes to virtual communities is that they're often criticized as not being beneficial for people's lives, and something that I find is that virtual communities are actually. You get to experience a lot of the benefits of in-person communities. I know a lot of people use programs like Twitch. I use LinkedIn a lot. There's a lot of ways to connect with people through social media, and so it's not as useless as people make it out to be. But the one thing that is really beneficial when you connect with others is in-person communication, because it's so enriching, it's so value-adding and so much more natural. It can be daunting as well, if you're really struggling with your mental well-being, to go out and talk to people, but the more you do it, the better it is, and this is why I love the platform. Meetup that Activate Mental Health is based on is because it gets the idea of going from behind the screen to meeting people in person, and that's always going to be the best way for you to connect with other like-minded people.

07:48 - Simon Order (Host)

Yes, I guess the message there all is that online virtual communities can lead to very positive face-to-face communities and friendships and connections, and you get to tell your stories in person. So you've been in this space for a little while now and you must have experienced a whole gamut of different things. Can you share some success stories or anecdotes maybe from individuals who have significantly improved their mental health through the support of a strong community and network? What kind of lessons can we draw from those experiences?

08:22 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

Well, I've got three examples to share with you today. I'm not using real names to make it easier for the people who are being part of the group. First example is Adrian. So Adrian was very socially isolated, worked in IT, doesn't have really the strongest of social skills initially, but he started coming to activate events and finding a way to connect with like-minded people, enjoy board games, and then he took the step of actually becoming an event host and since then it gives him really strong purpose and something to enjoy together and connect with other like minded people.

So Adrian's social life has massively improved through the volunteering opportunities that we've provided at Activate Mental Health. We've also provided safe places for interaction. So Ryan, who comes to our monthly board games night. He has a few disabilities that struggle for him to socially connect with other like minded people, but his support worker introduced him to the board games night and he comes enthusiastically every month to the board games night and he knows that there's people to bond with and share and it's usually the highlight of this month is to come to the board games night and connect with other like minded people. So always enjoy Ryan's company at the monthly board games night.

Another example that we've had was there was a lady who was in their 50s, Danielle, who lost both her parents in a very short space of time and she was overcoming with grief and didn't know what to do with her life because she was so caring of her parents. But she started using Meetup to engage with the groups and one of those groups was Activate Mental Health and she had positive experiences and a confidence grew and now she's doing walking groups, she's doing art classes, she's doing activities through Activate Mental Health. So she's been able to overcome that personal pain of grief and trauma to really connect with like minded people.

10:25 - Simon Order (Host)

When we were in the lobby. Rahul, you mentioned a whole bunch of activities that Activate Mental Health, provides and promotes. Can you just give our listeners an example or a broad range of what those activities are?

10:42 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

It's quite a broad and diverse range. So there are activities such as our monthly board games night. We've got a couple of our volunteers who run a TED Talk discussion group, which is really interesting. A couple of our volunteers run a queer social club, which is a great way for people in the queer community to connect. We've got walking groups. We've got creativity sessions. One of our volunteers actually even runs study and productivity sessions, so he hides the space that people can come together and study together. So there's quite an innovative range of events that a host run and it's basically whatever their interests are. The way I kind of summarise it up, it's like having friends on demand, like you advertise an event that you want to do with other like minded people and people come and join you. So that's quite a unique experience that you can just do whatever you feel like at a certain day with other like minded people.

11:35 - Simon Order (Host)

Yeah, I love that that phrase you use friends on demand. And if people want to get involved with Activate Mental Health, what's the quickest and easiest way for them to access your services?

11:45 - Rahul Seth (Guest)

Meetup.com is the best way to find us, so if you just Google Activate Mental Health Meetup, you'll find a group there. That's where we've got our 5,700 members on and that's where all our events are advertised and you can directly RSVP to. We do have a presence on Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn, but the idea is mainly to join us on Meetup and connect through there, because that's the platform we run from.

12:08 - Simon Order (Host)

Oh, that's great to hear all 5,000 plus members. I'm sure people will find someone of like mind to connect with.

Look it's been an absolute pleasure for you to come in and talk to us and I'm sure some of our regular listeners will be getting in touch. Thanks for having me my pleasure On this episode of the Enabled podcast. You heard Rahul Seth, founder of Activate Mental Health here in Western Australia, talking about the positive force of community connection, volunteering to empower better mental health. Rahul and his team of volunteers run many events throughout the year and they would love to meet you. Thanks to Rahul for chatting with us today. I'm sure we'll hear more from Rahul in the future on the Enabled podcast. Just a reminder this podcast is brought to you by the Ability Heroes Organization. Have a great week.