Alan White Sabona, which means “I see you” is how the Zulu tribe say hello! It literally means that “I acknowledge your existence”. This is a powerful way to say hello. It says that I am able to see beyond your behaviour and I acknowledge the person you are behind it. A person is not […]
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What lies beyond your comfort zone?
BlogAlan White Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be selected to showcase the work I have done over the past number of years on Mental Health at Féilte. This event is held every year in the RDS in Dublin and is organised by the Teaching Council. It is the largest celebration (Féilte means celebration, […]
A Eulogy for Stigma – Why we must get well-being on the agenda in schools
BlogAlan White Born out of fear and lack of understanding, stigma has marginalised those with mental health difficulties for centuries. Very often anyone suffering with mental illness were seen as outcasts and were viewed with suspicion and fear, even by loved ones. Stigma develops when we don’t understand something. As human beings, when we can’t […]
The light only shines through the cracks – why we should embrace our flaws!
BlogAlan White “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive that is you-er than you” – Dr Seuss. The wisdom of Dr Seuss has never been more important than it is today! The pressure young people are under to conform to certain images that popular culture deems to be […]
New Beginnings, why the past should be a point of reference not a place of residence
BlogAlan White With the new school year beginning, I felt that this week would be a good time to talk about new beginnings. As a teacher I see September not January as the beginning of a new year. After the summer break, the new school year, for me, is a time for a fresh start, […]
Your perception is a reflection of who you are
BlogAlan White The concept of perception and how we perceive the world around us is fascinating. How we see things can have a huge bearing on our mental well-being and unless we become aware of this, our perceptions can have a negative effect on our thoughts and feelings, causing us distress and causing us to […]
Weltschmerz – World Weary
BlogAlan White Welschmerz (Pronounced, Velchsmearts), is a German work which means: Mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state. A mood of sentimental sadness. We do not have a word to describe this feeling in the English language, but it sums up how many people […]
Hope – The thing that keeps us going during our most testing times
BlogIn my last piece I spoke about the importance of an attitude of gratitude to maintain positive mental well-being. Continuing on this theme this week I would like to talk a little about the ideas of hope and optimism and how developing these traits in both ourselves and in our young people.
Why Education should Flourish
BlogMostly we think we are mentally healthy because we do not experience mental illness. We are inclined to think that absence of mental illness means mental health by default. This way of thinking has its roots in the medical model, which has dominated our understanding of health, but this is really problematic because the absence […]
An Attitude of Gratitude
BlogIn previous blogs I have spoken about stress and how to cope with it. Stress has a way of creeping up on us without us really noticing and before we know it we are rushing around trying to be all things to all people, frantically trying to do more and more.