We reveal our Mental Health Month competition winner

Back in October we recognised Mental Health Month and as part of that we hosted a competition which asked you to tell us what helps your mental health the most. The prize, for the winning entry; a LUSH wellness hamper worth £35!

Today, we’re pleased to announce our winner, Rosley Gonsalves, Waiter onboard Queen Elizabeth. Here’s Rosley’s winning entry …

“Just like all the times, after completing my contract and disembarking vessel Queen Elizabeth in March 2020, I had planned a happy two months vacation. After working for 6 months on board you really need a good break and some self care time. Self-care for me before the pandemic involved going out on trips, parting, clubbing, shopping, but during the pandemic the self-care practices that I followed started to become less available and also add financial burden causing me to feel negative. Every time I ordered food, clothes or booked a salon at home it only made me happy for a short time.

“I soon realized that the so called self-care activities that gave me happiness were no more affordable, I felt very low on self-esteem and self-confidence. My wife soon realized this, and one evening we sat together and discussed what was happening to me. I explained to her, how I was not able to afford self-care and had stopped looking after myself and was getting overwhelmed with all the negative thoughts.

“After listening to me with all her patience, she educated me on the difference between ‘self-care’ and ‘self-indulgence’. She made me realise that what I had been doing wasn’t self-care at all. She further explained, self-indulgence is materialistic, working on outer self and doing things that are easily available and temporary which help you escape the negative feeling.

In other words, self-indulgence satisfies a person’s ‘want’ in the present moment but does not have lasting benefits. On the other hand, self-care is not materialistic; you work on your inner self and try to face all that you wish to escape. It is an intentional action to nourish one’s emotional wellbeing and achieve a sense of self-awareness through which we are in charge of our emotions and can handle ups and downs in lives.

“My wife being a Counselling Psychologist enlightened me with proper self-care practices that focus on body, soul and mind and I would like to share these with all colleagues. It helped me survive an entire period of being at home, jobless and broken”.

Image courtesy of Mrs. Leeyan Rosley Gonsalves, Counselling Psychologist & Special Education Consultant

Thank you Rosley for sharing your story and highlighting a common misconception of self care. Well done!