Nenagh group to shine light on mental health issues
A pathway to better mental wellbeing in North Tipperary
Ireland has one of the highest rates of mental health illness in Europe. In fact, according to a report from the OECD, Ireland ranks joint third out of 36 other European countries in terms of mental health problems.
In addition to this, when you look at the statistics of some of the younger age profiles the findings are shocking, almost 10% of young people aged 19-24 years have had a mental health disorder, and 15% of children aged between 11-13 years have also experienced a mental health disorder.
Your mental health is an important part of how you function in your everyday life. Positive mental health contributes to your overall wellbeing.
Although it can be said that we have made progress particularly in recent years in raising awareness around mental health and identifying the struggles that many of us face, the truth is we need to do much more.
We need to do more as a country in terms of the services that the State provides. We need to do more as a community to raise awareness and we need to do more as individuals in educating ourselves more about mental health and the signs and symptoms.
Everyone has been affected by mental health issues directly or indirectly at some point in their lives. I decided to get involved with Darkness Into Light in 2018, which is the main fundraising event for Pieta House.
I was Chairperson of the Committee from 2018 until 2022 and I am currently Secretary of this year’s committee. I firmly believe in the fantastic work that Pieta House and the many other established organisations do to help those who seek their services, but I always felt that as a community we could be doing more to help.
In February last following one of our Darkness Into Light committee meetings I had a conversation with Ryan O’Meara, the current Chair of Nenagh DIL. Ryan shared my views in relation to mental health awareness and we pieced together the framework of what we felt would be a good initiative. We contacted some like-minded individuals and held a meeting with the view of gathering feedback and forming a committee. The meeting was full of energy and enthusiasm and desire to do more for mental health in the community.
The Nenagh Mental Health Awareness Community group was formed as a result.
OUR MISSION
The Nenagh Mental Health Awareness Community is a voluntary group dedicated to raising awareness about the services, struggles, and strategies that shape the pathway to better mental wellbeing in North Tipperary. We are not medical professionals and will never offer therapeutic intervention under any circumstances. Instead, we are a group of volunteers from all walks of life whose aims include signposting the community toward appropriate services, shining a light on mental health issues, working to remove the stigma of mental health problems, identifying structural shortcomings and advocating for the provision of better services, promoting open and honest dialogue on the complex challenges faced by all of us as we seek to achieve emotional wellbeing.
One thing that every person in society has in common is the experience around our mental health, good or bad. The Nenagh Mental Health Awareness Community believes in the need, not only for the robust services to meet the requirements of the people, but also in the importance of non-judgemental conversations on our collective journey to wellness.
Nenagh Mental Health Awareness Community - Promoting positive mental health and bringing the conversation of Mental Health to the community.