On the 5th of June 2020, BeMSA hosted its #SunnySocks4Docs campaign once more. We encouraged doctors and healthcare workers to wear their most colourful socks in order to raise awareness about mental health issues that many healthcare workers are facing in Belgium, especially in these difficult times. Participants were requested to take a picture of their socks at work and post them on social media with the hashtag #SunnySocks4Docs.
Our goal was to raise awareness for mental health-issues in healthcare workers. We wanted to spark a nationwide discussion on the topic, break the stigma and taboo surrounding it, and let people having a hard time know that that they are not alone.
In the weeks leading up to the campaign, we posted teasers, infographics, and facts about mental health on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter profiles.
Thank you!
The campaign was a great success! We want to thank everyone that participated, as well as our partners for helping to spread the word and reduce the stigma.
Make sure to take a look at our policy statement, as well as our mental health project Start To Talk.
The campaign will be back in 2021, so make sure to mark Friday the 4th of June 2021 in your calendars for another edition of #SunnySocks4Docs.
Testimonials
"Only 3 or 4 people know that I just spent a whole day crying for no apparent reason, because of exhaustion." Even our health care workers can suffer from mental health issues. That is why we would like to put our #SunnySocks4Docs campaign in the spotlight with testimonials.
During the campaign we shared five testimonials by medical students on our social media. You can click on the testimonials below to read them.
Testimonial #1 
Testimonial #2 
Testimonial #3 
Testimonial #4 
Testimonial #5
Infographics
In the week leading up to #SunnySocks4Docs on the 5th of June, we shared an infographic every day around the topic of mental health in healthcare professionals and students, with a special focus on the impact of COVID-19.
You can click on the infographics below to view them in a larger format.
Infographic #1 - Effect of COVID-19 on mental health of care providers. 
Infographic #2 - Effect of COVID-19 on mental health of students. 
Infographic #3 - Mental health resources for the general public. 
Inforaphic #4 - Mental health resources for healthcare workers. 
Infographic #5 - Mental health resources for students and youth. 
Infographic #6 - What is BeMSA doing on the topic of mental health?
Partners
We'd like to thank the organizations and people that have pledged their support towards our campaign.
- Arts In Nood / Médecins en Difficulté
- Doctors4Doctors
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel - UZ Brussel
- Universiteit Gent - UGent
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent - UZ Gent
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven - UZ Leuven
- Vlaams Centrum Suicidepreventie - VLESP
- Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven
- Vlaams Instituut Voor de Eerste Lijn - VIVEL
- Centre de Référence en Santé Mentale - CRéSaM
- MedSocks
- Vlaamse Vereniging voor Psychiatrie - VVP
- Vlaamse Vereniging Assistenten Psychiatrie - VVAP
- Christie Morréale - Vice-présidente du gouvernement wallon et ministre de l'Emploi, de l'Action sociale, de la Santé et de l'Égalité des Chances
- Jong Domus
- Vlaams Geneeskundige StudentenOverleg - VGSO
Contact information
Any requests can be sent to SunnySocks4Docs@BeMSA.be.