Estonia’s Free Evangelical Church Union is marking October as mental health month, opening the programme with an online seminar on Monday 12 October led by a psychologist from the church-run Sõbralt Sõbrale counselling centre. Eleri Viinalass will speak on why so many people today feel persistently drained, and why time off does not always bring recovery. The webinar runs from 19:00 to 20:00 Estonian time on Zoom, is free of charge, and requires advance registration.
The counselling centre is part of Sõbralt Sõbrale — “Friend to Friend” — the diaconal work of Estonia’s Free Church congregations, which funds its social projects, youth work and counselling through a network of charity shops. Mental health month gives the congregations a shared focus for a subject the church union treats as a practical part of its mission rather than a specialist concern.
The seminar’s theme is the effect of chronic stress, overload and constant readiness on how people feel, and the distinction the speaker draws between resting and actually recovering. Her starting point, as the union puts it, is that the answer may not be more energy but less load — a framing the organisers hope will reach people who assume the problem is their own stamina. The union has invited congregations to pass the notice on to anyone for whom the subject is currently a live one.
(Originally published in Estonian. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Estonian Free Evangelical Church Union (EKB Liit) / Sõbralt Sõbrale — kogudused.ee
