Youth advocate Ruairi Holohan: "Avoid simply teaching a book definition of mental health to teenagers – instead, introduce the topic to children from an early age"

Ruairi Holohan,
UNICEF Youth Advocate

As a young person growing up in Ireland, it’s abundantly clear that our education system does not properly support the mental health of young people. This year, I was invited to the Transforming Education Summit (TES) – the focal point of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly – where I was given the opportunity to expand my knowledge of how people all around the world face a lack of mental health supports and seek different methods to transform the education of mental health.

While in New York, I had the privilege of meeting and speaking alongside Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain, speaking on panels with renowned educators, but also listening to others' stories and learning about initiatives on transforming education. When learning about the struggles of Youth Advocates, I realised that culture plays a key role in the way mental health is discussed, and how it is addressed.

From listening to panel discussions around the topic of mental health, it seemed everyone had a story to tell, and with that, further insight into the different ways in which mental health is discussed. For example, in Vietnam, people are shamed for struggling with their mental health; it is perceived to be a contagious disease, which leads to complete alienation from family and friends. Comparatively, Ireland responds better than most countries, with it having great intentions in delivering a quality mental health education. Unfortunately, the mental health supports in Ireland are simply not on par with the demand. As of 2022, 3,914 children were on the waiting list for CAMHS, with 9% waiting over 12 months. However, CAMHS is not at fault here; this is the result of long-term underfunding and a shortage in consultants to meet the increasing demand.

I believe that one of the most profound ways to improve discussions about mental health in classrooms is to avoid simply teaching a book definition of mental health to teenagers, but instead to introduce the topic to children from an early age, with an emphasis on discussing how we feel, but also the importance of understanding that it is completely normal to feel sad throughout the day. This way, no topics are being forced on teenagers, but the topic of mental health is gradually introduced so children can be comfortable enough to discuss this topic and to gain a proper understanding, with the hope of reducing toxic positivity in our society.

Prior to the TES, I had worries related to being a Youth Advocate, but having met the 29 other Youth Advocates from around the world, I realised that they all felt the same way. We all had past experiences and a story to tell. It goes to show, we are never alone. That was the beauty of the TES. I now have confidence in my advocacy that certain feelings I have are felt across the globe.

I am not alone.

Stayed tuned to hotpress.com over the coming days and weeks for more contributions to the Hot Press Mental Health Special – featuring Louize Carroll, Bressie, Sharyn Ward, Michael Conlan, Hermitage Green's Dan Murphy, Trick Mist, Malaki, Karen Cowley, Senator Eileen Flynn and more.