Working Life: Our mental health is just as important as our physical health

Mon, 11 Oct, 2021 - 06:00

Catherine Shanahan

Dr Lisa O’Rourke Scott, academic psychologist and chairperson, Limerick Mental Health Association (LMHA)

6am

I get through a good deal of work in bed on my laptop in the early morning when the house is quiet and there are no distractions. This morning I reviewed LMHA’s submission to the Charities Regulator to make sure we are complying with the Charities Act.

8am

Time for breakfast and a little stroll around the marina in Dingle. I live in Dingle but my job is in what was Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), now known as TUS (Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands and Midwest), following a merger with the institute in Athlone.

11am

We’re still not back to normal in terms of face-to-face lectures, so I put a prerecorded lecture on counselling and referrals up online for my final-year students. Just this week, we’ve got workshops back up and running, but it’s been a long haul, with pretty much everything online throughout the pandemic.

1pm

I jump into the car and head for Limerick to take part in filming for Limerick Mental Health Week which gets underway today (October 8) and runs until October 15. We’re filming in front of the Dolores O’Riordan mural near St John’s Castle. The recording is to let people know about the events we have planned including workshops, exhibitions and talks.

Post-Covid, it’s really important to get the conversation going again about our mental health, which is just as important as our physical health.

4pm

Our director of strategy at LMHA Morgan Mangan and I meet with the Mayor of Limerick, Daniel Butler, whose background is in mental health and is supportive of our work. He’s been very involved in the key event we’ve organised for the week ahead, which is the arrival from Foynes into the city of a sailing boat, The Ilen, owned by Sailing into Wellness social enterprise group.

Limerick singer Emma Langford will be on board providing musical entertainment and people are invited to drop roses in the Shannon in memory of those lost to Covid-19. Lots of buildings in Limerick will be lit up in green to mark the occasion and members of the public who attend - maintaining social distancing - will be asked to hold up their phones along the river banks and shine a light. The event takes place at 7pm this evening.