Sir John Kirwan Presentation

Recently, former All Black Sir John Kirwan gave a presentation to schools in Palmerston North about the importance of mental health and how we can mitigate the negative effects and develop good mental health. The talk was about the importance of a preventative mental health plan and the six pillars to prevent mental illness. These six pillars are: Connect, Do, Chill, Celebrate, Move, and Enjoy. The most important of these six pillars is Celebrate. Every evening before you go to sleep, tell yourself that you’re awesome. This helps to establish a positive way of thinking about yourself and how you performed throughout the day, putting you in a better headspace before sleep.

The other main point of the talk was that “it’s not a weakness; it’s an illness.” In New Zealand, the stigma around mental health is problematic, with many not reaching out for help out of fear of it being taken as a sign of weakness. The first step to solving the illness is accepting that you need help. Just like you would go to the physio if you had an injury or the doctor if you were sick, you need a psychiatrist or phycologist to help you begin to cure the illness. After that, you need to find what works for you, whether it's meditating, reading a book, playing or listening to music. Whatever helps you control and silence the voice in your head telling you that you’re not good enough.

Thank you to Westpac for providing the opportunity for some of our young men to hear this important message.