Earlier today Rugby Players Ireland and Zurich launched the Tackle Your Feelings Schools mental wellbeing pilot programme and App.
The launched was the second phase of the #ImTakingControl campaign. The campaign is aiming to create a proactive attitude around mental health and provide people with tools to help with their mental health by using principles from both sport and psychology.
The pilot programme is classroom-based and is aimed at students around the age of 15, with these students around the age of when they head into the second-half of their cycle in secondary school.
Research done by Zurich and Rugby Players Ireland and conducted by iReach has revealed several things including that one in five parents don’t understand the importance of mental wellbeing despite one in four children missing school due to issues surrounding their mental wellbeing.
However, 84% of parents agree that seeing role models like rugby players ‘taking control’ of their mental wellbeing empowers their child to start talking.
Speaking at the launch Ireland and Ulster centre and campaign ambassador Stuart McCloskey is happy to be working on the programme and believes talking about your feelings is a key is helping you excel in life.
“I’m delighted to be an ambassador for the Tackle Your Feelings Schools pilot programme and App. When I reflect on my own school experiences I can really see how students in school now would benefit from a programme like Tackle Your Feelings. It is important for students to acknowledge when they’re feeling down and not let those feelings consume them. I firmly believe that talking to friends and family is not a weakness, it just makes them aware of how you’re feeling and being in a good place mentally and emotionally enables you to excel in all aspects of life!” he said.
The programme itself will be run in the last term of the 2020 academic year with the hope that it can be of use to youngsters in years to come.
Since the Take Your Feelings initiative was launched in 2016 it has impacted on people all over the world and the campaign content has been viewed over 23 million times, with the hope to motivate people to be more proactive when it comes to their mental health.
To Find Out More on the Programme Check Out the Link Below or Check Out the App:
