AIMED AT PROMOTING positive mental health, Walk in My Shoes Radio goes back on air for a fifth year on Monday.
The idea behind the pop-up radio station is simple, to get people talking about mental health, in order to break the stigma around it. It’s based at St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin and will see a whole host of celebrities give of their time to take part and, “get the conversation going”.
One of those presenting a show is writer and TV producer Maia Dunphy:
It’s going to be a brilliant week of uplifting radio, a week of motivation and advice and loads of great music.
Dunphy who has spoken publicly in the past about her own mental health and her struggles with stress, told TheJournal.ie it was a “no brainer” to get involved.
I would suffer a fair bit with stress. Life is relative, people would raise an eyebrow and say ‘what do you have to be stressed about?’, but it’s different for everyone.
“I’ve been asked in previous years, but work commitments haven’t allowed me take part, so I’m delighted to be able to join in this year,” Dunphy said.
I love the idea of trying to reach people with a pop up radio station.
CEO of St Pats, Paul Gilligan, said while Ireland has gotten better as a society in talking about mental health, it’s important to keep encouraging people to talk.
Radio is one of the most powerful media going because of its accessibility.
Gilligan said despite the improvements people still need encouragement to speak up and ask for help.
There’s still a stigma, but people now have permission to talk about their experiences without being labeled.
Throughout the week, people from a broad section of society with experience of mental health difficulties will share their stories, in the hopes of inspiring others.
Gilligan said the important message that he would like to get across with Walk in my Shoes Radio or #WIMS is that recovery is not only possible but can be expected.
If someone experiences a serious mental health difficulty, they should expect to recover from it.
Despite the most serious of diagnoses, “you can expect to live a full and fruitful life,” Gilligan said.
This year a special programme will target audiences in primary schools in the hopes of reaching children who may be suffering in silence and to encourage young people to be more open on the issue.
Driven by a team of volunteers and radio students the station goes live from 7am on Monday, and will broadcast across the week until Friday evening. The station’s studio has been set up within St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin 8, and is a “community wide effort,” Gilligan said.
It will feature a number of well-known people, writers Barbara Scully and Rosemary McCabe, broadcasters Shay Byrne, Adrian Kennedy and Stephen Byrne and comedian Alison Spittle amongst others.
For Dunphy it’s about adding to the conversation that’s already underway about mental health and she’s hopeful listeners will get involved and share their stories.
The full line up is here and you can join in the conversation @walkinmyshoes on Twitter and Facebook.
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