The online sharing session “Healthy mind – Welcoming a New Year”

According to Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest warrior in the Trojan War. However, this muscular warrior had a weak point in his heel and was caught by his rival, so he was defeated in the end. The story of ” Achilles’s heel” is similar to the story of our mental health. We often focus on physical health while underestimate the mental health – which is very important and needs much nourishment.

Understanding this, Luong Van Can Fund organized a webinar called “Healthy Mind – Welcoming a New Year” on the evening of December 28, 2020 to help its students identify stress and learn how to relieve it. The sharing session was led by Dr. Nguyen Trung Nghia (Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy) – visiting lecturer in Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU-HCM).

Before the event, all participants had completed a survey to determine their mental health status and prepare for a face-to-face conversation with Dr. Nghia. The content of the Webinar revolved around two important issues: how to recognize stress in life and how to face it.

With extensive experience in this field, Dr. Nghia introduced the early signs of stress such as frustration, irritability, insomnia, inability to concentrate, shoulder pain, restlessness…; the effects of stress on people such as feeling miserable, performing self-harming actions… and how to know if there was too much stress. Sufficient stress was beneficial, but excessive and prolonged stress could be harmful both physically and mentally. When you feel stuck, you had better see a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Morever, the speaker also instructed the students to breathe properly to relieve stress.

The online program ended after an enthusiastic Q&A session from 60 participants. The knowledge that Dr. Nghia shares will be of great usefulness in the journey of nurturing the mental health of youngsters, especially in hurried life nowadays.