St Gerald’s College Student Council in collaboration with Mayo Mental Health Association is holding the first positive mental health week at the college. The St Gerald’s Student Council was formed in September of this year and highlighted mental health as an important issue for young people in the school.
The Student Council states that: “In recent years there seems to have been a stigma placed around mental health. Starting on December 9, St Gerald’s College are running our first ever mental health week. We hope to provide clarity on what mental health actually is while promoting good practice in looking after it. We do not expect a major reform in people's attitudes by the end of the week. However we would hope that we may encourage the notion of talking it out. Let's talk is the slogan we have adopted for the week. Simply discussing problems of anxiety and stress with someone you trust regularly is a crucial concept. We have displayed posters of useful numbers for anyone who is looking for advice or just to talk. If after this short week we have started people thinking more proactively about their mental health, then we feel the week would be a worthwhile project.”
Mayo Mental Health Association and Niall Dunne (development officer for Mayo/Roscommon MHA ) have given great advice and assistance to the council in the planning of their positive mental health week.
