#Beyond8pm: Community urged to share mindful moment after Clap for Carers

Mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin is asking the Jewish community to share a mindful moment after tonight’s’s 8pm Clap for Carers applause.

The one-off initiative for Mental Health Awareness Week aims “to unite the whole country together in a shared moment of reflection, calm and self-focus” immediately after the noise and buzz of the nation’s weekly appreciation for the NHS.

“Beyond the focus, noise and gathering of the 8pm applause should be a return to focusing on our own individual wellbeing to ensure we are there to recognise and support our family, friends and neighbours when they need us,” he said.

The concept is being promoted on social media through the #Beyond8pm hashtag and it has the support of Annemarie Plas, founder of #ClapForOurCarers, who has expressed concern about the mental health and wellbeing of frontline NHS staff and other key workers during the current crisis.

Annemarie Plas, Founder of the #ClapForOurCarers movement: “I think it is great to see Jewish News getting behind Mental Health Awareness Week and supporting #Beyond8pm tonight. Tonight at 8pm will be the ninth weekly Clap For Our Carers national applause, which I know is something the Jewish community up and down the country have been enthusiastically participating in every week. After tonight’s applause, I encourage everyone to take some time to focus on their own wellbeing and to think about the impact that the current crisis is having on the mental health of all our amazing frontline workers and brave keyworkers.”

Benjamin said he was “asking people to take a few moments for themselves,” adding: “Let’s all go beyond the noise and community-uniting of the weekly 8pm applause by focusing on our own individual wellbeing.”

Once the clapping ends, he suggested simple things such as talking to a friend or family member, going for a walk, meditating, making or baking something, reading, or just sitting quietly. “It’s a wonderful chance to take a moment for ourselves during Mental Health Awareness Week.”

The initiative is being supported by The Creative Clinic, that has thrown its weight behind a number of mental health causes within the community and beyond