Thursday, May 2, 2013

Headspace: A New Magazine Promoting Positive Mental Health

HeadSpace is a writing and art magazine based around the theme of mental health which began with a group of young people who felt that a greater understanding of mental health in all its forms  is needed.

In particular, people who spent time in psychiatric wards found that there was a lack of reading material there, and felt they would have gained a sense of solidarity and support to read and see the work of writers and artists who understood their own experiences.

The name HeadSpace was motivated by the idea that in culture and society, we are not given the time or capacity to express, create and think as time is money, but all of us feel the need to buy some 'headspace' in order to maintain positive mental health.

HeadSpace features inspiring, deeply moving personal accounts involving dealing with depression. There are articles on how to make yourself more confident, the importance of mental health and how to cope when your mental health is not as strong as it sometimes is.

It also features a range of spectacular creative writing, with poems and short stories dealing with the panic, depression, and confusion that comes with mental health difficulties and diseases as well as stories of hope and recovery coming from unlikely places  Its pages are also packed full of evocative, thought-provoking art.

Issue One is to be launched on May 11 in  in the Twisted Pepper, Abbey St., Dublin at 6 pm (Coiniciding with Mental Helath awareness month) and will be distributed for free to a psychiatric ward and a school catering to pupils with mental health difficulties.

The magazine is entirely not-for-profit and was created by a group of volunteers. Costs have been met via crowdsourcing and fundraising events. Issue One is now available for advance orders online here for €5 including delivery. For more information please visit the facebook page.

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