The Donegal Mind Wellness charity invites every person in Donegal to pay special attention to their own wellbeing this World Mental Health Day:
The 10th of October has traditionally become the day the world celebrates mental health and it is a day the Majella O’Donnell looks forward to every year.
Over the past few years, Majella has made sure that she is in her adopted county of Donegal for this day.
Because of the challenges in her own past Majella has come to appreciate the importance of learning how to mind her own mental health, and from this grew a passion to do what she could to raise the profile of mental health in County Donegal.
Majella founded the charity Donegal Mind Wellness back in 2014 with a very clear aim – to help people deal with the ups and downs of everyday life that can lead to anxiety and depression as well as other mental health related problems. Although many people are more aware of mental health in the general sense these days, there is still a big challenge in actually persuading people to prioritise looking after their own mental health.
We all can get so preoccupied with what is going on in the world around us and we can neglect our own inner world – our thoughts, emotions and how we behave. This is usually how a lot of mental health related problems begin. If we cannot read these early signs, it can escalate and at some point life can become a real struggle. And even at this point we may find it really hard to seek help. “There is usually opportunities for all of us to deepen out self-awareness after we have been through tough times, and this is an important part of recovery and personal development”
Through her charity Majella wants to encourage everyone in Donegal to be more proactive when it comes to looking after our mental health.
“Praemonitus praemunitus” is latin for “forewarned is forearmed” – in other words – if we were more self-aware about the cues for when our mental health is slipping, we could take action at an earlier stage.
Donegal Mind Wellness has been bringing this message to people all over the county by regularly delivering an excellent Stress Control programme which basically teaches people to become their own therapists. The programme has proven to be very popular and Majella thinks this is down to the simplicity of the programme. It does not use any jargon and explains how stress affects us in a way that is easy to understand. At the end of the programme people feel they have more confidence in controlling stresses in their lives.
Latest research on the programme which was carried out locally in Inishowen has shown that many people in Donegal have seen their lives improve after doing the programme.
Following on from last year’s successful afternoon in An Grianan Theatre, Majella wants to invite everyone back for an evening of varied entertainment to celebrate all things Mental. She will be giving a talk herself, there will be singing and a short drama piece looking at stress in the work place.
Majella Celebrates World Mental Health Day – 10th October at 8pm in An Grianan Theatre.
This is a free event, but tickets must be booked through the theatre beforehand.
To find out about events and stress control courses, visit donegalmindwellness.ie
