CalmCon 2022 Wrapped: Normalising mental health conversations IRL

CalmCon is a mental health & well-being festival for Asia that includes talks and workshops on numerous topics to help individuals achieve well-being at work, learn how to find calm by managing their mental health and define what it means to thrive in their daily life.

In its second year, CalmCon was a 4-day hybrid festival held from 6 - 9 October 2022, leading up to World Mental Health Day. It was the first time we introduced in-person events to CalmCon as a means of actualising our mantra: 

Well-being for Your Whole Being 

The in-person events took place on the third and last day of the festival. Here’s a recap of what went down. 

Normalising Mental Health Conversations with Calm Collective Asia on 8 October at WeWork, 21 Collyer Quay

Following the momentum of our virtual programmes, our first in-person activity from CalmCon witnessed an exciting turnout! Hosting 50+ participants & volunteers from our community, we were also treated to healthy snacks and drinks from our sponsors - Kilogramme Singapore, Maxi Coffee Bar and Kombowcha

You could feel the excitement in the air as attendees entered the venue, surveying the room in preparation for what was to come. Many new faces lined the seats but there were also familiar faces who had supported Calm Collective from Day 1. 

We started off the day with a talk on “#StrengthInVulnerability: How to ask for help” hosted by Alyssa Reinoso (Co-founder & Head of Content, Calm Collective) with heart-warming and candid sharings from Lim Sheryl (Mental Health Advocate), Nels Friets (Advisor, Calm Collective) and Sabrina Ooi (CEO & Co-founder, Calm Collective). The talk leveraged our recent social media campaign, #StrengthInVulnerability, which encouraged individuals to open up about their struggles in hopes of empowering others to do the same. 

After a quick break, we went straight into Calm Circles, our signature peer-sharing program. The theme of the session was “Understanding Feelings” where participants were encouraged to share how they identified emotions and work with them in a healthy way. 

CalmCon Finale: Well-being for your whole being on 9 October at Temasek Shophouse 

CalmCon 2022 ended off with our first ever experiential workshop, “Well-being for Your Whole Being”, which saw 40 participants and volunteers geared up in athleisure ready for some mind-body exercises. 

The event kicked off with a fireside chat from our co-founders, Sabrina Ooi and Alyssa Reinoso about how mindful movement like yoga and meditation has helped them through their mental health recovery and grief. Next, we ran an experiential workshop on mindful movement on introductory yoga and meditation. Then, we held a lite version of our flagship programme, Calm Circles, where participants shared candidly about the experiences on the mind-body connection and how they hope to achieve well-being for their whole being. 

This event would not have been possible without our venue partner, Temasek Shophouse, and event partners, Lululemon and Lecka.

What’s next? 

It’s truly amazing to think back on this time last year when we were just kicking off our inaugural CalmCon virtually with high hopes to start raising more awareness around mental health and getting the conversation started. This year, the conversation has shifted in a new direction with people wanting to learn more about how they can take action to care for their well-being. We never could have imagined the journey it would inevitably take us on. 

Connect with the Calm Collective community at Calm Circles, our peer support programme to support mental health & well-being. Sign up at calmcircles.co

Bring Calm Collective to your workplace: Learn more about our mental health & well-being programmes, and connect with us here. 

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#Relatable: Glamourising and Over-simplifying Mental Illnesses Online

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CalmCon 2022 Wrapped: Define What It Means to Thrive