“We each have a role to play,
teachers, friends, parents. We are all developing”
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has announced
training for parents of school children as part of the Government’s plan to
educate Ireland on the dangers of Cyber bullying.
It is time for Irish people to step up and
play their part in solving one of Ireland’s most frightening problems in the
history of the state.
Bullying in
schools and the work place has long dominated the Irish existence but the
emergence of ‘cyber bullying’ in the past 12 months is a new wave that has
gripped society.
As a nation
we discussed the economic downturn trying to emerge from the failures of a
problem that we chose to brush aside and continued living the Celtic Tiger
Lifestyle in which we all had a sense of security within.
The problem
which we should have been examining was attitudes to mental health in Ireland
and protecting those most vulnerable in society; sadly this did not happen.
As
individuals we all struggle to survive from time to time; for many of us it is
easy to invest our darkest secrets to those who love us but for many Irish
people this is sadly not the case as pre-existing ideology within the Irish
diaspora means we are supposed to brush aside the pain and hurt and keep the
pretence that life is okay
Sadly this brushing aside the Irish emotions
has tragically seen the rate of Irish suicide increase drastically in the past
14 months in Ireland. The Young Men and Suicide report issued by the cross
border Men’s Health Forum in Ireland has found:
Suicide now
ranks as a major cause of death among young males in both The Republic &
Northern Ireland. The report outlines 12 key recommendations, including the
development and promotion of positive models of mental health aimed at young
males but this must now be applied on all genders across the island.
In 2012 Cyber
bullying was a contributing factor in the deaths of Ciara Pugsley, Erin
Gallagher and Minister Shane McEntee who all died by suicide following
pressures from online tormentors.
In the Irish
context what is needed is to eradicate the ideology of masculine Ireland. Jigsaw
Galway is one resource in the West of Ireland that is helping to combat taboo
in Irish society regarding mental health.
The
organisation particularly deals in teenage mental health issues. It focuses on
‘guided self-help’ and ensuring proper advice and guidance is given to
adolescents and parents who have concerns about certain issues facing them and
their children.
Research
& Community Development Officer at Jigsaw Galway Sarah Simkin says: “Jigsaw
Galway is a free and confidential support service for 15 to 25 year olds living
in Galway. One of the main aims we have is to help young people to feel
stronger and to face whatever difficulty they have.”
The advice
coming from JIGSAW Galway and for parents, who have anxieties with the online
world that their children are growing up part of, is to approach online
bullying the same way as traditional methods were dealt with.
And that
official stance was echoed again by Ms Simkin who said:” The approach and
advice is very much the same in dealing with online bullying as it was with
traditional methods of bullying”.
Ms Simkin further added: “They best way to
deal with online bullying is to ‘block, ‘defriend’, and ‘report’ the online
bully.
She further
added: “We each have a role to play, teachers, friends, parents. We are all
developing”. Incidents of teenage suicide raised an alarming rate at the end of
last year. The advice coming from Jigsaw Galway is to talk to a professional.
When a
person is distressed enough, they can carry out an act of extreme anger such as
suicide. This may be in response to an impulse that may easily be talked out if
people break their silence.
Jigsaw
Galway has the following advice to offer to people who may have concerns about
the behaviour of a friend or family member who may be struggling in life.
“Pick up the
phone to Jigsaw Galway or the family doctor and seek advice about how best to
approach the situation. Do not be put under pressure to have all the answers,
You have to think about what you have noticed, quite often people think
everyone is getting on fine but sadly this is not always the case.
Use whatever
words are natural for you to that person and this will allow this person the
opportunity to open up about issues in their life.
Often time offering
supporting such as attending an organisation like Jigsaw will help to break the
taboo that the person may have built up”.
The role
Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) play in the development of a topic such as
mental health is vital and the support they offer those falling through the
cracks of society.
Another organisation
trying to paint a new picture for speaking up and breaking the silence that
Ireland has succumbed to for too long is SpunOut Mental Health.
Youth
Engagement Officer with SpunOut Ireland John Buckley explains that “Over the
past five years we have been in a position where by we provide health
information online and give young people an opportunity to have their voice
heard in a different way.
The
organisation has seen a rise over the last year in aggressive and abusive
behaviour online. The role of SpunOut mental health is to give young people a
place to express themselves around that behaviour but to also make sure people
have access to good quality information and advice to deal with cyber bullying
or any online abuse.
The advice
Mr Buckley is offering to those affected by online bullying is “Under no
circumstances is such abuse acceptable. No one deserves that kind of abuse put
on them
“The second
piece of advice would be to talk to someone, a trusted adult or friend. The
third thing is to record it, take a screen shot on your phone or laptop and
save it or print the messages”.
Echoing the
message from Jigsaw Galway John adds: “report, block and walk away from it”.
The key thing to remember is that when we engage in an online sphere we need to
do it in a place we feel safe.
Mr Buckley
urged people “Before you click send or type that message think about the impact
your words can have on someone, because your words do have a very big impact on
other people”. The Youth Engagement Officer spoke of the hurt and pain words
can have and can lead to a detrimental effect on people’s mental health who may
be struggling.
The advice
to parents on issues relating to bullying and mental health is to engage from
an early age with your young person. It can be difficult for parents to do this
SpunOut realises as young people are the experts in the online sphere and this
can take parents a little getting used to.
He urged
parents to set good firm boundaries and to ensure children have human empathy.
The most important thing to do is to keep dialogue open and trust your young
person. The Youth engagement officer further added: “The main message is that
under no circumstances is it your fault or is it acceptable” (Cyber bullying).
In the wider
mental health spectrum we are vulnerable people, we are all sensitive. In the
Irish context we have to have a sense of wellbeing. John Buckley summed up the
debate on Irish mental health attitudes “The Heathers {band} have a song “It’s
all right not to feel okay”. If only more Irish people would realise this
concept then perhaps one of the country’s worst problems would be solved.
No comments:
Post a Comment