May 26, 2021
News
The topic of mental health is still a taboo in our society. Mental health issues are often seen as a weakness and there is a risk of being stigmatized by the society. In the Czech Republic, however, a fifth of the population suffers from serious mental illness. The latest data from the National Institute of Mental Health reveal that during the pandemic, the number rose to one in three people suffering from mental illness.
Young Caritas try to break the taboo
Young Caritas, working under Caritas Czech Republic, has decided to contribute to breaking the taboo in the field of mental health. Together with partners from BONA o.p.s. and Green Doors, they are launching a campaign called Talking about mental health.
“Our goal is to show that talking about our mental health issues is completely normal and can often solve the issues right in the beginning before they grow bigger,” says David Zítek, project coordinator of Caritas Czech Republic and adds that both mental health professionals and people who have been through a dark period themselves joined forces for this activity.
The Talking about Mental Health campaign will take place from May 31st to June 6th. During this week, the campaign’s creators will stream a series of short video interviews on social media. The videos will present stories of various people from different backgrounds, famous and unknown people as well. These include, for example, stand-up comedian Lucie Macháčková or professional MMA fighter Pavel Salčák. The program will also include a live online counselling session with psychologist Tomáš Kvapilík and a panel discussion, which will take place on June 2nd at 6 PM at Rock Café and will be streamed online.
“During the panel discussion, we want to discuss the stigma from the society and the bloc, which prevents us from talking about mental health issues,” David Zítek describes the topic of the discussion, which will be attended by Edna Nová, author of the book Women from Bohnice (Psychiatric hospital in Prague), Lucie Sedláčková from the project Zavařeniny komix, Kristián Dembický, Jan Botlík, peer mentor working with Green Doors and Lukáš Mareš, mental coach. The discussion will be led by psychologist and author of the project Therapy among the trees Adam Táborský.
People do not have to fight mental illness alone
Through the campaign its authors also want to draw attention to the services of community centers, either those directly in the field or those offering outpatient consultations.
“We are convinced that it is necessary to constantly remind that people do not have to fight the mental health problems alone. There is always someone to help. Whether someone from a close circle or from a community center. At the same time we are planning to come up with a bookmark that will contain simple tips on how to keep your mind clear in stressful times,” says David Zítek.
The Talking about Mental Health campaign is part of the Dialogue for Partnership for Sustainable Development project, which is financially supported by the Czech Development Agency within the Czech Development Cooperation.
