Mental Health Awareness – JMAC- The Blog Experience

Michael Byrne #LETsTALK

“It’s okay to have a bad day. The trick is to not let a bad day turn into a bad week.”

On the 26th of November St. Aidan’s was visited by Michael Byrne a speaker on trauma and mental health. Megamind invited Michael to talk to raise awareness about mindfulness for the launch of their colouring and activity book unplugged. Michael started the #LETsTALK after founding Lived Experience Trauma Support (LETs) to help others who went through trauma like him.
He spoke to the 5th and 6th year pupils about his own story and the importance of talking. He said “It’s okay to have a bad day. The trick is to not let a bad day turn into a bad week.” He encouraged us to talk about our mental health especially now as the senior pupils are the ones who can change the stigma.
Pupils were interested in the talk and glad to see mental health being talked about. Sarah Mecredy, a S6 student said “The talk with Michael really opened my eyes and made me see a bigger picture. I thought it benefited the fifth and sixth years as this is a tough time for us and to see someone who has struggled immensely but eventually found happiness and peace was very inspiring”

World Mental Health Awareness Day

The 10th of October is world mental health awareness day. Although mental health is a daily issue world mental health awareness day was designed to empower people to talk about it. This year’s theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is suicide prevention.

In 2018 there were 6,859 across the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the deaths by suicide rose 11.8% in 2018. It’s not a ‘female’ issue. Men are 3 times as likely to die by suicide in the UK and 4 times as likely in the republic of Ireland. In Scotland, the suicide rate of young people between 15-24 has increased by 52.7%, the highest since 2007.

Don’t become another statistic.

It’s not a foreign issue; it isn’t just some old guy in a newspaper, it isn’t just a friend’s cousin’s girlfriend or just a celebrity with the world at their fingertips. It’s us. It might be you, your neighbour, friend, teacher, family. But why do we still treat it like it is? Why don’t we talk about it?

It’s a question I can’t answer for you. We need to change the question, not the answer, to why don’t we talk about it? When a disease sweeps across the nation, killing thousands, we look for a cure. There isn’t a pill you can take or some exercise you can do but what you can do is support people.

We can’t cure people by telling them to just smile or fake it till you make it but we can listen. Talking about it is step one. Another step maybe some form of therapy or maybe even medication and that’s good too. But talking is the most important.

Telling people how you feel, listening when they tell you, is essential. Whether it’s a friend, family member, teacher, or a professional someone out there wants to help you. Even if you think “I’m not that bad” or “there’s worse” talk! There’s no shame in what you may feel.

1 in 10 aged 5 to 16 are affected by a mental health problem but 70% of young people with mental health problems don’t receive the appropriate support. Unfortunately, this means if you or a friend need help you may need to fight for it.

I won’t lie and say it’s a walk through a flower field for recovery. There are weeds and litter and you might get stuck in the mud along the way but you keep walking. Talk to a parent or a teacher (or if you’re old enough go to your GP on your own) and you can ask for help. They’ll be able to refer you to someone who can help.

Or call one of the numbers listed below:

Anxiety UK Phone: 08444 775 774 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm) Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk

No Panic Phone: 0844 967 4848 (daily, 10am-10pm) Website: www.nopanic.org.uk

OCD UK Phone: 0845 120 3778 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) Website: www.ocduk.org

Samaritans Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline) Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

Young Minds Phone: Parents’ helpline 0808 802 5544 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm) Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

You may see teachers wearing yellow for world mental health awareness day on the 10th. This is to help reduce the stigma.

Never give in. you never know what will happen tomorrow. It might take a while to get better but that doesn’t mean it won’t.

Chris’s House Presentation.

Chris’s House in Saint Aidan’s

St Aidan’s High School received a very special visit on Monday 30^th October. Every student was invited to attend a mental health awareness workshop at assembly.

The school was visited by “Chris’s House” which stands for “Centre of Help, Response and Intervention Surrounding Suicide”. The organisation started up to help offer people who are going through some difficult times in life a safe environment.

The well trained staff are there to encourage people of any age to come forward and speak up about their crisis. The organisations motto “Let’s Talk” clearly shows that the staff and members want anyone who needs to have a chat about what they’re going through to feel free to contact Chris’s House as they want to help.

Sixth year student journalists David Russell and Chris Quigley went on to interview Mrs. Kathleen Keeney, the Depute Head Teacher who organised the event. She said “With Chris’s house coming in today, we’ve just touched on the large amount of support that’s available to us.”

Mrs Keeney added “It’s good for our young people to know that people are here to help, whether it be a pupil support teacher, or Chris’s house, there’s always support”. Mrs Keeney went on to say “I hope that pupils and staff have raised awareness of the importance of looking after their mental health. I think as well as looking after each other, people knowing it is okay not to be okay is vital. It’s okay to ask for help, and Chris’s house are here to offer help”.

The workshop was highly interactive and the team from Chris’s House received a great reception from the young people of Saint Aidan’s High. Activities included a focus on developing self-esteem and a highly interactive and colourful demonstration about the power of connections between people as a way to develop personal strength. Sixth year photographer Reece Larkins put himself into the heart of the event to secure some fantastic photographs of the students getting involved in the activities.

The organisation was founded by Anne Rowan who created it following the suicide of her own son Chris in 2011. Sixth year student journalists Rebecca and Hollie McConville took the opportunity to speak at length to Anne after the final workshop event of the day.

They discovered that her aim is to create a place where people can get the correct help they need: the help that her son who was suffering from PTSD was deprived of. Chris’s House is not partnered with any other agencies but if somebody comes to Chris’s House in need of help regarding sexual abuse or domestic violence they are signposted to another agency. Volunteer Lynn spoke about the loss of her own son in 2013. Although she did not lose him to suicide she saw Anne speaking at an event during what she said was one of her darkest days. Anne was able to give her hope. Lynn said “I just had to reach out to that woman and tell her I was willing to help, and that’s where it started for me.”

As a non-medical based service their motto “Let’s Talk” promotes their use of counselling services and holistic therapies which work really well with all of the visitors at Chris’s House.

Lynn emphasised her enthusiasm for the event by telling our student journalists that she thought visiting schools was vital, commenting, “It’s so important to catch people at a very young age and let them know that their mental wellness is just as important as their physical wellness. A lot of people who visit Chris’ House have suffered from mental illness at a young age and have been medicated. To then realise that when you get to a certain level medication isn’t helping anymore. So our job is to find alternatives to medication that work for each individual.”

The positive response of the students to the input of Chris’s Houses staff was a great indicator of how successful the day was. Mrs. Keeney, who attended all the workshops, was somewhat tired – to say the least- by the end of a great day, commented, “This was such an important day for our young people. Bringing the issue of mental health into the open can only be a positive step for everyone.”

Journalism by Rebecca, Hollie, Chris and David

Photo Editing and Communications by Reece