Friday 17th of this month saw the launch of the latest issue of a very worthy endeavour, the second issue of HeadSpace magazine.
HeadSpace is a literary and artistic anthology themed around mental health, with an emphasis on the personal experience of those who suffer from, or have been affected by, mental health issues in their lives.
Rather than simply approach the (admittedly worthy) topic as a subject for artistic inspiration, the magazine is intended to build upon and supplement public awareness of mental health issues. Popular sensitivity towards conditions such as depression or bipolar disorder has improved substantially in Ireland over the last generation but stigmas remain, especially around conditions which are routinely misrepresented and stereotyped in the media, such as schizophrenia. A survey conducted by SeeChange, the National Mental Health Stigma Reduction Partnership, compared public attitudes between 2010 and 2012 found that more than 55% of their sample group claimed to have been affected by mental health issues, either directly or indirectly, an increase from 39% in 2010.
A second purpose behind the HeadSpace magazine is their insight that people who have spent time in psychiatric institutes often experience extreme boredom and a lack of quality reading material, which the HeadSpace team hope to help alleviate. Copies of the first issue have been made available for free in the psychiatric ward of St James University Hospital, Roslyn Park School and Tara House.
The editor Naomi Elster, in conversation with NewsFour, said she was “absolutely delighted” with the well-attended launch night for issue two and with the number of supportive messages the team have received. Now comes the task of fully distributing the issue. She advises interested people to keep watching the Headspace site “and particularly the Facebook page”. Submissions for issue three will open on an as-yet-unannounced date in March of this year.
For more info visit http://www.headspace-magazine.com/ or facebook.com/HeadSpaceForAll
By Rúairí Conneely
