Arts Convenor Aonghus Ó Briain along with PleaseTalk UCD held a ‘ThinkPositive’ Day in the Newman building last Wednesday, mind the 19th February.
PleaseTalk are a student run organisation whose primary message is to encourage students to open up and talk about their mental health problems. This event sought to raise awareness of mental health in the Arts faculty by interacting with students.
A series of talks were given throughout the day including one from Barbara Dooley, prostate the Director of Research at Headstrong, the national centre for youth mental health, who spoke about the importance of positive thinking in relation to mental health.
Ó Briain also spoke at the event about the importance of positive mental health and what the day sought to achieve. “Think Positive aims to put mental health awareness on the radar of students who might normally shy away from the phrase ‘mental health’. It’s a reminder that mental health doesn’t just refer to mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. We can have good and we can have bad mental health. Think Positive shows us that the simple things in life – getting free sweets, sharing a happy thought – affect our mental health. It reminds you that a random act of kindness can go a long way for your fellow students,” he said
Chairperson of PleaseTalk Zoe Forde also spoke to the College Tribune about the event. Commenting on the positive feedback she had received from students Forde said that “I had a few come up to me personally to say that the day was a much needed pick-me-up for them and they were very thankful.”
Next week footage from the event will be launched to further promote positive mental health amongst students.
