team lexi and eve – Lisneal College

Why as a team did you choose to focus on this challenge?

My team choose mental health for this challenge. We choose this because a lot of people struggle with mental health and don't know what to do with themselves or how to cope with their mental health difficulty. And while my team and I are focusing on the mental health topic, hopefully we will learn more about the different types of mental health and if we come across someone struggling with their own mental health then we can try to help them get through it without harming themselves. And we can try and encourage them to go and get help.

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What do you know now about the challenge that you didn't know before?

Since we started focusing on the topic about mental health I now know tat there is so much going on in the world and that just at the age of 13, 1 in 3 young people in Ireland has had experiences with mental health problems and by the age of 24 that figure goes up to 1 in 2. And that talking to someone can reduce the amount of sadness you have and it is very easy to access by just speaking to someone you trust, I know it might be scary and you might be embarrassed but its normal.

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What have you learnt about your Hero?

Our hero is Whitney Houston, the challenges she faced was alcohol and drug use which caused her extreme stress which she couldn't handle so she kept taking alcohol and drugs to calm her down, the drugs led her to get heart disease. She went into addiction treatment at least 3 times, the first time in 2004 and the last time 2011. Her was often followed by a relapse, including a prolonged one that started in the period before her death on Febuary 11 2012 which she drowned in the bathtub at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

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If you could improve one thing for your Hero what would that be?

If we could improve one thing for our hero it would be better coping methods. We think that there should be better ways for people to cope instead of turning to alcohol and drug use. A lot of people suffer with addiction like how Whitney Houston, so if we find better coping methods so many peoples lifes would be changed for the better. Also if we had better coping methods maybe Whitney Houston might of not died so soon and badly.

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Do you have any ideas for a potential solution? No matter how raw, share them with your Mentors for feedback.

One potential solution we are thinking of doing is creating a safe enviroment for those who suffer from severe or non-severe mental health issues. It will include mental health carrers that would be there if you need to speak about how you feel and there will be sensory toys such as stress toys and other stuff like that. It will also include going out days such as the bowling alley or the cinema for a day to distract those who suffer with health issues from their issues they face.

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Ask your Mentor anything …. This is a chance to ask your Mentors a direct question relating to your Big Idea.

Some questions we having are : -Is there anything we can change to make our idea better or different from things that are already in place? -Do you think people will come or want to come? -How long do u think the sessions should last? -Will this help people who are suffering with mental health issues? -Do You think we should add anything else to create access for those in need?