Southside school gets to grips with mental health

A GROUP of 22 students and 10 staff members from St Raphaela’s Secondary Sch­ool in Stillorgan are taking part in an epic cycle ride in aid of charity.

The team is hoping to complete the 84km from the RTE studios to Carlow in just one day as part of this year’s Cycle Against Suicide taking place at the end of the month.

This is a first for the school, and according to Lisa Redmond, they wanted do something to promote positive mental health and send out the message that there are four things that you can do to help your mental health, eat, sleep, talk and exercise.

“I am organising this as a transition year project so I am doing it on my own time and the students and staff have done all the training outside of school hours,

? Lisa said.

“We have been training since November, starting with basic fitness classes twice a week to build up core strength, legs and fitness.

Sponsorship

“Then, after a few weeks we continued the fitness class on Tuesdays and on Thursdays and I taught a spinning class in Rock Fitness in Dundrum, where they they kindly let us use their studio for free.

“On top of that we have been doing weekend cycles. The participants were emailed a training program every week.

“The students are collecting sponsorship, and we have a link on My Charity (mycharity.ie /event/lisa_redmonds_event) with all the money going directly to Cycle Against Suicide to help with suicide prevention, awareness and promote positive mental health.

?

Lisa added that they had staged numerous events in the school to promote positive mental health including a

“what makes you happy wall

?, which is a big area where people write what makes them happy.

“We had a ‘walk in my shoes day’ where staff and students wore socks and shoes that represented their lives,

? Lisa explained.

“The message was, don’t judge me until you’ve walked in my shoes.

“We are producing a booklet for all students about mental health and we have had a nutritionist in talking about food and mental health.

“We have done a bag pack to raise money and run poster and story competitions.

“We hope to run a few more events before the school term ends to keep sending the message that

‘it’s ok not to feel ok’,

? Lisa added.

“I don’t think that there is a family in Ireland that hasn’t somehow been affected by suicide, mental health issues or self harm and there is a lot of fear around all these issues,

? Lisa suggested.

Listen

“Hopefully by working with teenagers in a positive way it will have a ripple effect throughout families and the message that it is ok, you are not alone and there is help will filter through.

“It’s very hard being a teenager today and the suicide rates are rising rapidly in this country so it is immensely important that we break down barriers, and not only listen but hear what teenagers are saying and equip them with positive coping skills such as exercise that they can carry through life.

?

According to Lisa they are all a

“bunch of ordinary people

?.

“None of us are cyclists and we have had many ups and downs along this journey, but we have learnt that mental health doesn’t discriminate, it can effect anyone regardless of age, gender or social status.

“We have also learnt how to support each other, listen to each other and together we will get to Carlow.

?