Students attend West Cork Mental Health Day

'Be Brave...Reach Out.' Was the theme of the 10th West Cork Youth Mental Health day in The Maritime Hotel in Bantry. This energetic and fun positive mental health day brought together 175 students from all over West Cork.

The day opened with an informative talk from Sinead Glennon, the director of Mental Health Services in Cork and Kerry. This was followed by an energiser to get everyone moving and ready for the day. Sacred Heart Leaving Cert Applied student, Siobhan Kennifick presented an interesting talk on phone usage. She encouraged everyone to be aware of the apps and settings that measure phone usage.  Robert Field, an Addiction Counsellor from Arbour House Skibbereen talked about addiction and the relevance of the emotional structure of addictive behaviour. The message was “beware…. addiction starts small and grows”. A powerful video on consent and taking responsibility was presented by Fern Atkinson from WCDP. A variety of workshops were available from which students could participate in two; meditation, boxing, chakra dance, overcoming your cowardly lion, jigsaw, coping with stress and group singing. We then took part in a live Skype call with Sacred Heart past pupil, Emily O Connell. She talked about her own mental health journey, how the support of one good adult gave her the courage to seek help and the skills she now uses from cognitive behaviour therapy. Emily’s message was clear, be persistent, be brave and reach out to someone who will listen and help.

Picture: The working student team from Sacred Heart Secondary School and Clonakilty Community College with Sinead Glennon, director of Cork / Kerry Mental Health Service.