VIDEO: Animated series encourages positive mental health among youths

Youth website SpunOut.ie has launched a series of animated videos promoting positive mental health.

The campaign entitled ‘Ditch The Monkey’ is loosely modelled on a series evidenced-based steps to wellbeing known as the ‘five ways to wellness’.

Each 90-second video is broadly dedicated to one of the steps; Connect; Give; Take Notice; Keep Learning and Be Active.

Since being going online yesterday, the initiative has been trending on Twitter with the hashtag #DitchTheMonkey.

The videos, created by Irish animator Eoin Duffy, encourage young people to overcome negative thoughts and embrace life more fully.

The first ‘episode’ aims to promote a positive self-image among youths; acknowledging their insecurities but overcoming them.

The next episode seeks to entice people out of their own bubble and to interact with their peer group.

In each case, the monkey represents the negative or unhealthy alternative to the five steps and, as such, is ditched by the characters on each occasion.

The penultimate video, entitled ’Connect’, has an accompanying blurb which reads: “Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, connected to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.”

The final message of the campaign is for each person to accept who they are and embrace the differences that make them unique.

To find out more about Spun Out and Ditch The Monkey, click here.