Friday, June 3, 2016
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May was a very busy month for us here at Real Talks as we worked with Aer Lingus, Warriors of The Light, Gaelic Players Association and schools in Galway, Monaghan and Louth among others.
The schools we worked with were St. Raphael’s, Loughrea, Our Lady’s Secondary School, Castleblayney and St. Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda.
During each dialogue, Alan shared key experiences and learnings from his journey through depression and used them as a catalyst to start a meaningful conversation where vulnerabilities can be discussed, problems around communication can be examined, resilience can be built and the skill of listening is valued.
Here is some results from our recent work.
- 92% felt they a better understanding of the importance of managing their own mental health and wellbeing.
- 91% felt they were more aware of the professional support services and resources that people can use in times of difficulty.
- 79% felt that just one hour spent with our founder, Alan O’Mara, helped to reduce any stigma they had towards mental health.
- 92% felt they were more aware of the little things they can do to develop their own resilience.
- 94 % believe that having meaningful conversations can help them live a happier, healthier and more successful life.
Our vision is to build compassionate and understanding communities that can connect and communicate more effectively with one another. We know that life throws up many inevitable challenges but we believe that having meaningful conversations can help us to successfully navigate them and live happier, healthier and more successful lives.
What they said..
We asked participants to share one key lesson from the Real Talks session. Here is what they said:
“It is important to talk about your feelings and mental health to someone you trust and not keep it to yourself .”
“Real Talks helped me see the importance of just talking to one person. One conversation is a start.”
“When the conversation is started by a figure who from the outset ‘has it all’ it makes it so much easier for other people to start talking about it. I would encourage others to get involved with Real Talks.”
“Real Talks really helped me to undersand the signs of someone feeling suicidal and how to spot them.”
“Ask for help if you need it and try to be a good listener.”
“Real Talks helps people to be more relaxed about themselves and to be able to talk to others about mental health.”
Keep up to date with our work by following Real Talks on Facebook and Twitter!