Whether it is the mismanagement of public finances or the litany of corruption our Government were complicit in, they have let the nation down but I want to focus on another group of people they have let down. People that do not get the respect they deserve. People that do not get the help they need. People, like you and I, that have no- one to turn too when times get tough and they are left alone to bear with their blues.

But if we can separate the pain and anxiety of the individual and their families for a moment, the cost of mental health problems in Ireland exceeded €3 billion in 2006. In our “current financial climate” this Government can literally no longer afford to ignore the issues relating to mental health in Ireland. Change has to come.

With more than 400,000 individuals experiencing depression, the most important justification for further investment is, to guide and support the people and their families. Remarkably in the past two decades, despite the Celtic Tiger, this Government has presided over a substantial fall in the proportion of the health budget devoted to mental health. In 1984, 14 per cent of Ireland’s health budget was devoted to mental health, but by 2007 this had fallen to less than 8 per cent. The Government calls for a smarter economy yet we cannot provide a mental health service that can meet with the demands of a 21st century society.

 In 2008 identifying that a recession directly contributes to depression, UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced plans for a major new programme to train 3,600 Psychological Therapists throughout the UK. This forward thinking plan is part of an £170 million NHS programme aimed at transforming the lives of thousands of people living with depression and anxiety in the UK

In 2010, our Government must create its own vision of how the mental health of the population should be supported. The HSE needs to provide a mental health service that focuses on the possibility of recovery, rather than long-term drug dependency. A service that focuses on the journey. This can be achieved by using integrated, community-based services and avoiding isolated, “special” services. Services that treat every individual with respect and dignity not add to the stigma.

PFC

Relaxing in his living room in North Dublin he reflected back to a time when his outlook on life was not so bright. “Like so many people in the country, I was let go from a good job and was very unsure about where I was going. I worked for ADT Fire and Security for 5 years and was let go in February 2009, so I needed to look at my options.”

At 30, John felt his next career move was crucial having reached this unexpected crossroad. Sitting in Coffee Company in Temple Bar pondering what he was going to do next, how he could make ends meet, he looked out the window and straight across the road was the Irish Film Academy.

John described this moment as his revelation and how he felt, in order for him to get over being made redundant and the negative feelings one experiences in those circumstances, he would take a chance and follow his heart into the world of film. “It’s funny when you have a full time job, its steady and you would never dream of being an actor, but it’s the best thing I have ever done. Thanks to the IFA, I have learnt so much about myself, met exciting people, it has got my mind off losing my job and I have made great new friends and a new career.”

Success has come relatively early for John. Under the guidance of the IFA he has recently starred as an IRA assassin in ‘Ceart Agus Coir’ currently showing on Thursday nights on TG4.  Shot in Ireland over six months, the series uses documentary and drama recreations to create, for the first time, some important chapters in Irish criminal history.

John has also been cast as sociopath “Happy” in a pilot for RTE called Tonic. “I have already shot a few scenes for Tonic. It is coming out later in the year on RTE. I cannot say too much but there is a big kidnapping scene involved in the first episode but it’s a very exciting project to be a part of.” The series due to air this spring will deal with deception and the destruction of families through crime and will star an ensemble cast of young fresh faced Irish actors.

John mentions Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman and Henry Fonda as his main acting influences and describes about how Fonda’s performance in 12 Angry Men motivated him to become an actor “The whole film is acting at its best. There are no props, just 12 men in a jury room. It’s very inspirational to watch.”

Using methods like emotional recall and affective memory John is constantly looking new ways to improve his acting skills. He explains how he calls on personal memories of situations similar to those of his characters and offers a profound and sensitive explanation to the method. “You let the audience see a part of your soul as an actor. It can be very intimate experience showing how vulnerable you can be on stage”.

He believes actors need to take their own emotion and personality to the stage and call upon it when playing their character. “I think you have to allow yourself to do that in order to progress. If you can get it right it can be very rewarding”.

John Kennerk is currently starring in ‘Ceart Agus Coir’ on TG4.

 No matter what year you are in, what course you are on or what age you are, exams can be a daunting prospect for all students. Some days if you’re lucky you might get as far as revising a few chapters or writing a couple of paragraphs before you succumb to writing blogs about your inability to concentrate and willingness to procrastinate.

 You see procrastination is like death. Unavoidable. Although, you can choose whether you can be a good procrastinator or a bad procrastinator. It is often regarded as time wasting. It’s not. It’s the subtle blend and deflection of priorities and self – deception. For it to work well, you must trick yourself into thinking your activity is worthwhile. This allows the good procrastinator escape the horrible guilt that consumes a bad one. 

Sitting on Facebook for the day is a sign of bad procrastinating. It’s useless and I am guilty but thinking about it I learn nothing from tagging, chatting, writing on walls, joining stupid groups that were set up by people as bored and uninteresting as I am or updating my profile with more egotistical rubbish about my day and how important I think my life is.

Wikipedia dependency can also attribute to many long lost study hours and is a classic site for any revision evasion tactics. Researching random facts and figures about a topic not even remotely interesting or relevant previously, playing 6 degrees of separation, finding out what scientology is all about and seeing if Abe Vigoda is still alive are all valid but ultimately useless pieces of trivial information that occupies my brain when I should be studying, designing, revising, writing and panicking.

My most common form of subconscious procrastination is finally getting around to meticulously tidying my house. Rearranging all the furniture to face the opposite direction, swimming in the sea of notes that have been on my floor since I wrote them, trying to sort and file the good ones into plastic sheets. Finding the good ones in the first place. Colour co-ordinating underwear and sock drawers and alphabetizing everything I own is standard positive procrastination procedure.

 So after spending the whole afternoon cleaning and preparing for revision I should be physically and emotionally prepared to abandon the internet and tackle the books, so boil the kettle and open all the right pages. Check the emails, open all the necessary documents, get a blank notepad and favourite pen, make tea and finally sit down, get a call, go out, get back in the early hours and mess the place in a drunken stupor.

PFC

http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/2467/56/

This morning, I read an article written by the property editor of the Irish Times. Orna Mulcahy. In her article she states Leaving Cert points have gone up and competiton for places are even tougher because of the number of mature students going back into fulltime education. Ms. Mulcahy is correct to point out that the arrival of 12000 or so mature students into the equation has increased demand for places. But as the article runs away with itself, she starts getting a little delusional as she begins to argue mature students shouldn’t be allowed to go back to college at all, particularly when she implies and explicitly states they are “leaving the job search” to spend time “ogling young ones”.

I have not read alot of her work before but by reading between her lines I know she does not live in the real world. Her property bubble has burst and she is angry in her over-priced home and needs to vent. As a mature student at undergrad level, I know firsthand mature students are as motivated, talented and driven than our younger peers. We are also more keen to avoid setting up random college Facebook pages and thinking the world owes us.

Perhaps the fact mature students actually had to either give up work to go to college means they actually are used too working hard and remember that a mature student is anyone over 23 not some grey workforce as Mulcahy puts it. It really would be a sad day if motivated, ambitious, harder-working mature student took the place of an 18yr-olds straight from school with a sense of entitlement wouldn’t it?