Beat the Blues

Beat the Blues is a depression awareness programme designed for senior-cycle students in secondary schools.

It has proven to be a highly effective way of increasing awareness and understanding of depression as well as helping young people become more open about emotional difficulties. It also identifies sources of support available to young people. Beat the Blues is provided free of charge, though some schools make a donation or support Aware through fundraising work afterwards.

Feedback continues to be very positive. More than 90% of teachers have reported that after partaking in the programme, they feel more equipped to deal with related issues among students. The programme covers the following topics:

• Who and what is Aware? We outline our aims of informing, supporting and researching.
• Statistics on depression, e.g. that over 400,000 people experience the condition at any one time in Ireland or that 1 in 10 adolescents aged 13 - 19 experience a depressive episode.
• The 'Monday Morning Blues' and the fact that these can happen any day of the week. We explain that depression can be an extension of these feelings.
• The stigma that has long been attached to all mental health difficulties.
• Suicide rates - particularly the worrying incidences among young men.
• What signs and symptoms to look for, both in ourselves and in others.
• A video of young people speaking about their depression.

The students are also encouraged to ask any questions they may have. Typical questions include:

• How do family members cope with the problem?
• What can you do when your best friend is more than just 'fed-up'?
• Do people ever think of taking hard drugs as an alternative to medication?
• Are anti-depressant drugs addictive?

All students are given a specially designed bookmark featuring the symptoms of depression and information on Aware. This way, they can keep the information within handy reach for future reference. It is stressed to them that even if depression has not affected their lives yet, it may well do so at some point in the future. We believe it is vital to educate young people about depression and are happy to bring this service to the community.

Follow this link to download the Beat the Blues brochure in our Literature section.


For more information, please contact us.