Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My name is Nikita and I am fundraising for MIND as a part of Mental Health Awareness Week.

I have decided to fundraise for the first time for a charity that I feel deeply about

I find that most people still think of Mental Health as a taboo topic, especially in ethnic minority families. It's seen as something to keep quiet and not share: "what will others think?" does that sound familiar?

I think it's time for us to start talking about it! Mental Health Disorders affect 1 in 4 people. A whopping 25% of us will be affected by this in our life times and it's important we all know where to look for help. Depression is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds so it's important we aim improve our support for mental health. 

I am a pharmacist, specialised in mental health and everyday I see the incredible work our services are carrying out to help the community. Ranging from social support to psychological therapy and education around mental health. 

I often get questions about my motivations for wanting to specialise in a psychiatric hospital. I have often been asked if I'm scared when I go to work.
People are surprised to hear that most individuals I work with are just like you and me, normal people with jobs, families, friends and social lives, you wouldn't know there was an underlying mental health condition. And so you may not know who in your family or friends circle may be suffering in silence too.

Mental health conditions can include a vast array of feelings and states of mind including: anxiety, dementia and eating disorders. I can guarantee that most people reading this have experienced or know someone experiencing one of the conditions.

MIND  is able to support the NHS while offering a range of support to those who are experiencing mental ill health including: this includes providing education, therapy sessions and even providing support for those who are feeling lonely.

Due to the new distancing measures that have been put in place a lot of us had to take a step back from spending time with loved ones and may not be able to take part in hobbies that kept us fit. Potentially impacting our physical and mental health. To help combat this I have launched a dance company, Beyond Bollywood UK, which aims to improve the well-being of the community. I started by teaching weekly beginners online dance classes which offer a social space for people to meet, exercise together and support one another. 

Over the next week I hope to run some free sessions which promote both physical and mental well-being and I hope you will be able to take the time to take part and help me to support this incredible charity through your donations <3

I will be running:
1) A Guided meditation session (20 mins) 

Wednesday 20th May 2020  9pm-9:20pm GMT 

Link:
https://meet.jit.si/MentalHealthAwarenessFundraiserforMIND-Meditation

2) An online Indian Fusion dance class  (1 hour) 

Sunday 24th May 2020 4pm - 5pm GMT

Link:
https://meet.jit.si/MentalHealthAwarenessFundraiserforMIND-indianfusiondance

3) A Mental Health Q & A session with myself and a specialist doctor (30 mins hosted on Instagram live) 

Wednesday 27th May 2020 9pm - 9:30pm GMT

Links:
https://www.instagram.com/nikita.dance_/
&
https://www.instagram.com/beyondbollywooduk/

I hope you can join me for some of these and will help me to support MIND and the community :)

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