This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and I've been reflecting on the need to raise awareness of something so prevalent.
Every year, more than 1 in 4 New Zealanders will experience mental distress, according to Statistics New Zealand. This exceeds the number of Kiwis who catch the flu.
So why is Aotearoa in a place where we need to raise awareness on something so commonplace? We don't have or need a week-long kōrero dedicated to the common flu.
Too taboo to acknowledge, even in its early stages, until a crisis point is reached.
I've experienced this whakamā with mental distress in myself and in my own whānau. Five of my close friends have died by suicide - four of whom were tāne Māori.
My friends aren't isolated cases. In my life and career, I've found that tangata Māori in particular lack the tools to prioritise their wellbeing.
More than that - many of us carry a sense of shame and guilt brought on by disconnection from our reo and tūpuna. In my opinion, this exacerbates and complicates our experience, and our physical and mental stats are reflecting this.
I was at my lowest point when I discovered yoga, mindfulness, and meditation. These practices helped me find purpose and healing.
It's Mental Health Awareness Week. Image / Supplied
They supported me physically, mentally, and spiritually - and ultimately saved my life. But these tools can be expensive, demanding, and whitewashed. Making these tools accessible has become my guiding kaupapa, and the motivation behind founding the M3 Mindfulness programme.
Bringing M3 Mindfulness into 700 schools, kōhanga reo, and kura kaupapa across the motu has given me hope that the next generation will have the tools that my generation lacked. But it's not enough to equip only our uri whakatipu. This silent epidemic is rife now, and it does not discriminate.
Over the past three months, I've developed an app to make the M3 practices accessible for busy pakeke (adults). The M3 app combines breath, mindfulness, meditation, movement exercises, and pūrakau Māori.
The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week for 2022 is Reconnect; reconnecting with the people and places that lift you up.
The knowledge and wisdom we need to tackle mental distress lies within mātauranga Māori. The M3 app is te reo Māori first, with an English translation option. Each practice is grounded in te ao Māori with the goal of helping tangata whenua reconnect with their Māoritanga.
All tangata Māori know the people and places that lift us up. It's in our pepeha, it lives within our tuakiri. The goal of the M3 app is to help bridge this connection, while learning how to let go of shame and distress. Not just for Māori, but for everyone.
I have an ambitious whakaaro of an Aotearoa that doesn't need mental health awareness, where these practices and kōrero are part of our everyday life.
While this isn't the flu - there's no vaccine, home remedy, or magic vitamins that hold the cure to mental distress - the right tools do exist. Little by little, day by day, they can have a big impact.
Jase Te Patu is the founder of M3 Mindfulness and the M3 App. He has been teaching hauora for 30 years, is a qualified yoga, meditation, and mindfulness facilitator for children and adults, and a PLD Trainer for Principals and Teachers.
