Below are 3 simple questions you can ask election candidates over the coming weeks. Do not let them insult your intelligence with vague and non-committal type answers. These are promises, once made that cannot be broken. I will not be voting for any individual who can’t satisfy me fully with the knowledge that they are prioritising real human issues such as these. I won’t have them fob me off with phrases like “ring fenced budgets” and “we will look into it”. These men and women are paid well by the tax payer to provide services and support to communities in every capacity. We have an incredibly high tax rate for the return we get so make them work for this. If your mother, father, sister, brother or child requires help in the future it’s important to know they will be well looked after.
3 mental health questions to ask election candidates
1. What exactly will you do to promote access to 24/7 crisis care for people in distress?
2. How specifically will you promote better access to counselling and talk therapy?
3. What are your commitments on prioritising wellbeing in the education system?
Every four years or so, the public get a fleeting opportunity to express the issues they are facing from a household perspective and community level. We come face to face with canvassing politicians from varying parties competing for votes. They are well versed in promising adequate solutions to any array of pressing topics, and in some cases follow through, but as we have noticed in the past, quite often promises get broken.
This essentially is politics in a nut shell. I believe there are many great people within many of the parties, but when power, ego and bureaucracy get thrown into the equation it can often be difficult to push through certain agendas that up to this point have not been in any way prioritised by any government.
Success of government seems to work off the gauge of Gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment rates and other economic targets which in a capitalist society such as Ireland is to be expected. It’s assumed that if we have growth and a high GDP rate then we are as a whole ‘happy’.
We have in the past enjoyed both the pitfalls and benefits of capitalism but I feel we need to look towards a ‘new prosperity’ in this country. The measurement of social capital must become a new target for us as a country, unfortunately an area where we lag massively behind in international standards. There is rampant inequality in Ireland, something quite a lot of people like to put their head in the sand about. If they don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
Our access to both preventative primary and secondary mental health and emotional support services are in certain areas of this country, non-existent. Our education system, at a government level, seems to be largely ignoring the absolute immediate necessity of incorporating effective, practical and pragmatic life skills and mental fitness strategies into the curriculum, instead relying on passionate individuals, schools, charities and awareness organisations to do the work for them.
Our teachers are arguably one of the most important sectors of society and must be treated that way. An example of this is the fact that I have had to turn down addressing a handful of schools where I tell my story and discuss mental health. The talk I give can be quite raw and hard for some teenagers. On one hand it’s incredibly relieving for them to hear stories such as mine, but it can often be the point at which they decide they require help, speaking out for the first time. A brave and important step in any person’s life.
However, in certain areas of Ireland help is not available, therefore it is not ethical on my behalf to encourage that, when the help is non-existent. This is wrong on so many levels. Some schools have had to cut counsellors while the child and adolescent mental health services simply don’t exist in certain regions. This potentially can affect any young person in this country and every parent has the responsibility to consider this when addressing politicians at their doors over the coming weeks. Although speaking out is the first step for people seeking help, it’s only the catalyst that carries the individual towards seeking the professional help that can allow them deal with their distress in a much more effective way.
Many people have made contact with us on what they can ask canvassing politicians regarding mental health services, access and strategies in the future. It can be confusing as you can’t keep them there all night burning the ear off them so the questions have to be concise, simple and cover as much as can be covered in a short period of time. Hopefully the above questions help, or perhaps you can generate your own questions that really resonate with you.
If we are to change societal and cultural attitudes towards mental health and emotional well-being we have to use opportunities like this to make a difference. We all have a part to play. Remember, the power is in your hands, not the politicians.
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