In Week 2, I spoke at the Year 5/6 introductory evening about Mental Health issues for Men. The main focus of the talk was to encourage all of us to help our sons/students to know and understand that it is ok to talk, to cry, to reach out – to know that someone else is there for them.
Considerable attention has been given in the media to Men’s Mental Health and encouraging Men to open up and talk - this attention reflects the overwhelming concern our Australian society has for statistics here reflecting the level of Male Youth Suicide in particular.
Although this is never an easy conversation to have, the fact remains that our statistics are alarming. The media attention given to
Men's Mental Health is certainly in the hope of reducing the number of lives loss to suicide. Although we here at CBHS are in full support of this campaign and agree with the importance of encouraging communication and connectedness, we cannot help but think about the importance of encouraging this at a much younger age.
How much more difficult is it when you are told to do something when you are 25 or even 35?
Encouraging our students here at CBHS to reach out, to talk, to ask for help, to get another opinion needs to start in the home. We understand that this conversation will involve having to break down a lot of barriers …. and sometimes it is difficult to know exactly how to do this. Please feel free to contact either Alessandro or myself for any support or information you need in this area and maybe take some time to look through our website where you may find information to help you as well.
Until next time,
Liza
ALL DIFFERENT, ALL EQUAL, ALL LEWO