ICA-AP Committee on Women Organizes An Online Lecture on Emotional Wellness for Women Cooperators

The ICA-AP Committee on Women organized an online lecture on Emotional Wellness for Women Cooperators on September 6, 2024, in collaboration with Sleepwell Foundation India. It was attended by 27 participants from India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal and the Philippines.

The lecture focused on stress and anger management as key sub-themes and was conducted by two mental health counsellors Mrs. Neelam Agarwal and Mrs. Parul Khanna Parashar. In part 1, they focused on understanding how stress reflects in the human body and impacts us. The negative impact of stress on our bodies is seen in the form of –

• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Low mood or depression
• Rapid breathing
• Weakened immune system
• High blood pressure
• Tensed muscles
• Fertility problems, among others

As a result of high stress, we develop unhealthy coping mechanisms such as procrastination, avoidance, aggressive behaviour, excessive usage of social media, alcohol dependence, and over consumption of relaxation pills or drugs.

In the second part, they discussed common myths about anger like –

• Anger is always bad
• Venting anger is helpful
• Suppressing anger is the best way to deal with it
• Only aggressive people get angry
• Anger always leads to aggression
• Only men get angry
• Anger is always directed at someone

They further explained that there are three types of anger – aggressive, assertive and passive-aggressive. The counsellors performed a short role-play to explain these types. At the end of the lecture, they discussed strategies to manage stress and anger which include –

• Meditation and physical exercise such as yoga
• Music therapy
• Time management
• Journalling
• Spending time in nature
• Practising personal hobbies
• Consulting a therapist, among others

Throughout the lecture, the counsellors ensured that the participants took an active part through questions and answers.

The counsellors highlighted that while stress and anger affect everyone, it affects women differently. Due to the gendered nature of society, women’s symptoms of stress often go unnoticed or are ignored by women themselves. This gets amplified when women are in leadership positions and their capability to handle stress at work is compared to men. Similarly, it is not easy for women leaders to show or express their anger at work as it is seen in a negative light and is not encouraged.

This was the first time that the Committee organized a session on emotional wellness and mental health. The lecture was well received by Committee members, and they requested more such sessions in the future.

Following this, the Committee members briefly shared their activity updates in 2024 and tentative plans to observe the International Year of Cooperatives in 2025.

The Committee Office Bearers met online later in the month to discuss the activity plan for 2025. They decided to hold a series of online sessions on emotional wellness and mental health next year as this theme is pertinent to all women cooperators in the Asia and Pacific region.