SpunOut.ie rolls out novel mental health initiative

Youth website SpunOut.ie has launched a new book, animation series, and app to promote positive youth mental health.

The SpunOut.ie Survival Guide is aimed at helping those aged 16 to 20 to navigate the transitions between school, college, and work.

Ditch the Monkey is an animation series produced in collaboration with Irish animator Eoin Duffy and is loosely based on the ‘five ways to wellness’ — a set of evidence-based actions that promote positive mental health.

The series will be seen by more than 650,000 young people in cinemas this month and can be seen and shared on YouTube via DitchTheMonkey.ie.

MiYo, short for “Mind Yourself”, is a mobile app which allows youngsters to track their wellbeing in a number of different areas to help them kick-start a healthy routine.

It is a self-reflective journal where young people can log the things they have done each day which are crucial to physical and mental well-being.

With suicide rates among young people in Ireland the highest in Europe, it is hoped the HSE-funded projects will encourage maintenance of positive mental health amongst the website’s users. Gerry Raleigh, director of the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, said the initiative would compliment a national social marketing campaign due to be launched in September.