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Webinar: Supporting young people to stay positive

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

We ran a webinar for parents on Monday, 27 April where two Jigsaw clinicians gave a presentation on supporting young people to stay positive and motivated. They then took questions from parents about what was going on for them.

The lockdown has gone on longer than any of us could have foreseen at the beginning and is now what people are calling the ‘new normal’. However, it can still feel far from normal particularly with things like school, college and work suspended, uncertain or over in some cases.

Keeping yourself and the young people in your life positive and motivated right now can take a bit of of extra work. Hopefully, this webinar covers useful tips for you to try at this time.

Webinar: Supporting your own mental health in lockdown

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

We ran a webinar for parents where two Jigsaw clinicians gave a presentation about supporting your mental health while social distancing. They then took questions from parents about what was going on for them.

The new measures can still throw up a lot of uncertainty and disappointment about plans that either have to postponed, or canceled. Keeping yourself and the young people in your life positive and motivated right now can take a bit of of extra work. Hopefully, this webinar covers useful tips for you to try at this time.

Being the best

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

We live in a competitive world, where comparison is everywhere. It’s often present in school or college, on the sports field or in relation to social status.

There can be a focus on ‘being the best’ when we are ranked and compared to those around us.

At school or in college there is often competition, with exams designed to assess our academic ability. Ratings can be compared to every other person our age in Ireland.

Sports can come with pressure and a focus on winning. Even in non-competitive activities, such as the gym, we are encouraged to try to get a ‘personal best’. We might focus on doing more weights or improving our time, in competition with ourselves to be our best.

Online and on social media, we can usually see how many followers/friends, likes, or comments another person receives. We often compare our social media stats to those of others. Looking at posts and wondering why some got more support than others can become a habit. What stories are we telling ourselves about success and failure?

Feeling happy being single

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Being single doesn’t seem like something to celebrate. Relationships are the focus of a lot of the popular culture we consume. 

It can also take a period of adjustment if we recently find ourselves single, through a break-up, or ending a relationship.

Our Instagram feeds are filled with snaps of ‘happy couples’ and #relationshipgoals. There’s a mountain of advice on how not to be single. So, you’d be forgiven for thinking everyone in the world is in a relationship except you.

However, that’s not the case. According to the most recent Irish Census, 41% of people over 15 years-old are single. Yet still, we can feel the pressure to ‘couple up’ and this can be challenging.

Feeling pressure

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Life can feel full of pressure sometimes. Especially while we figure out who we are, what we want, and how we want our lives to be.

Young people who come to Jigsaw often talk to us about the pressure they’re feeling. Some of the things they feel pressure from include:

  • Fitting in – Having to change who they are to be included in a group.
  • Supporting friends – Feeling they have to respond to friends’ difficulties, even when it interferes with their own wellbeing.
  • Conforming – Falling in with an education system that feels unfair and out of line with everything else in their life.
  • Performing well in exams – Comparing results and achievements.
  • Competing and doing well in sports or other hobbies – This can be to the point where they no longer enjoy it.
  • Future plans – Feeling they should know what career path to choose.
  • Fulfilling the expectations of others – Living up to the expectations of parents. Or matching the achievements of siblings.

Hearing voices

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

We know that many young people hear voices or sounds that other people can’t hear. The recent My World Survey found that over one in five adolescents has had this experience.

This can feel frightening or confusing. Particularly with a backdrop of movies and tv programmes that portray hearing voices as ‘crazy’. However, there are many explanations for the phenomenon of hearing voices.

Porn and mental health

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

As technology advances, the accessibility of porn has increased. We know that many young people in Ireland are consuming porn.

The recent My World Survey, a study of young people in Ireland, had relevant results on this. It found that almost two-thirds of young adults had watched pornography on the internet.

Feeling anxious as society reopens

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Lockdown life since March 2020 brought about many changes for all of us. The easing of restrictions may be very welcome but can bring some feelings of anxiety along with them. 

One of the biggest changes for the last year was our social interactions. The on-again off-again seeing people outside the home, led to some creative ways to stay connected. But, it has been a challenge for many to not be able to visit their support systems.

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