BellTIME
BellTIME
The Importance of Wellbeing in
Introduction Over the years, there has been increasing concern about the mental health of young people in Ireland. Reports of psychological distress, substance abuse and suicide among Irish youth has now become all too common. While we know that many young Irish people are experiencing mental distress, little research has been done to determine the actual number of young people who are experiencing a diagnosable mental disorder. In October 2013, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland( RCSI, 2013) published its finding by the PERL group on‘ The Mental Health of Young People in Ireland’, and this report goes some way towards addressing this issue. The researchers found that 1 in 3 of young people are likely to have experienced some type of mental disorder by age 13 years, and increases to 1 in 2 by age 24 years. Based on international evidence, this means that up to one third of young Irish adolescents and over one half of young Irish adults are at increased risk of mental ill-health into their adult years. The researchers further found that over 1 in 15 young people had engaged in deliberate self-harm and 1 in 5 will have experienced suicidal ideation by age 24 years. These finding by the RCSI suggest that Irish young people may have higher rates of mental disorder than similarly aged young people in other countries. The researchers also identified risk factors such as health issues, work and relationship stress, family difficulties, being in an abusive intimate relationship and having a bisexual or homosexual orientation.
Background Based on their research findings, they recommended two policy strategies that could have the potential to contribute to a reduction in the incidence, impact and continuity of mental ill-health among Irish youth. These were to“ include mental health literacy as a core part of the educational curriculum in primary and second level education”; and to“ develop school-based interventions that promote and support help-seeking skills among young people”. The implementation of both strategies would ensure that we, as a society, are committed to the protection and promotion of young people’ s wellbeing and mental health.
In Ireland, looking after the physical education of our children has a long history. No one argues that we shouldn’ t be doing so, and its importance is highlighted by the fact that it has long been included by the Department 10
of Education & Skills( DES) in the national curriculum. The big question to be asked, therefore, is why are we not taking the mental health and wellbeing education of our children as serious? This is exactly what the changes currently being implemented at Junior Cycle level are attempting to address. A new area of learning called wellbeing will be introduced for those students starting the first year of secondary school in September 2017. Wellbeing underpins the Junior Cycle framework and is one of the Framework’ s eight principles. Wellbeing links strongly to Junior Cycle Statements of Learning and Key Skills, in particular the key skill of Staying Well. Schools are only too aware that students with high levels of wellbeing make better learners.
What is meant by Mental Health & Wellbeing? Wellbeing in Junior Cycle is for all students and will play an all-important preventative role in mental health issues and teaching our students to cope with life’ s challenges, and how to seek help and support when they need it. From the outset, we all have mental health. It is important in dealing with life’ s ups and downs, to understand when we might