Let's #Go4aBreak and boost your mental health
Hong Kong，10 Oct 2020
At Bupa, we care about health inside and out. In Hong Kong, more than 50% of secondary school students show symptoms of depression*, while almost 40% do not know where to go for mental health support, especially during the pandemic. As a result of this, schools are seeing a further increase in mental health issues among students and teachers.
Together with our community partners, Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) and KELY Support Group , we've decided to tackle the unmet social need. We wanted to make it easier for young people to talk about their mental health and access help when they need it.
To mark World Mental Health Day 2020, we encouraged young people and those close to them to #Go4aBreak from 5-6pm, which is typically known as “Happy Hour” throughout the working community. Through our weekly webcasts and a live Facebook chat, we provided the people with practical tips on how to slow down and take time for themselves.
We introduced toolkits to help manage stress and demonstrate how cognitive behavioural therapy works. We also encouraged young people to design a card game “let’s beak it down”, which helps families to connect and share their feelings openly and honestly.
“(let’s beak it down card game) It's a simple and user-friendly tool to help my clients to engage in thoughtful conversations, regardless if they come from different cultures, background, and ages. I've used it to facilitate discussions with families who have teenage children over the past several weeks with great feedback. The wording is easy to understand and the scenarios are realistic. My favorite scenarios is ‘think about how you would react if Ocean Park was closed upon arrival.’ – Ms. Kate Tong, Registered Psychologist.
We're proud of the impact we have made through reaching almost 1 million people and involving around 1,000 young people through Bupa families, NGOs, local and international schools in Hong Kong. Good health matters to everyone, regardless of your background.
Courtesy to our community partners:
*Source: Depression of Secondary School Students Report in 2018 conducted by Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service
**Source: Youth Mental Health Matter’ survey in June 2020 by KELY Support Group
