Gay Byrne - The Challenge.......What about Mentality?

national | crime and justice | opinion/analysis

Sunday May 07, 2006 19:34

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice, Ethics

Quotation: Fr. John Powell
'A growing person is self-renewing.......as new as each new day....Study his face and hands, listen to his voice....look for change.....It is certain that he has changed.

'To tell you my thoughts is to locate myself in a category. To tell you about my feelings is to tell you about me'...............Have we lost this capacity to share feelings!!!!!!

Irish Association for Suicidology: Recently heard that they now identify motor accident deaths that
by Michelle Clarke - Social Inclusion; understanding and compassion Sun May 7 18:20:02 2006
are suicide related.

The method of death has been acknolwedged in the US and in Europe but for some reason in Ireland, the secrecy, the shame, the danger to others, the hindrance to inclusive research has been denied.

No doubt the reasons are there!!!! We ought to ask the question why we even have a limit on alcohol consumed......it ought to be none......but then one must think of Government coffers and the Corporates.......

I was delighted to hear Gay Bryne has entered the fray......As a man who can spend a retirement enjoying the pleasure of a Harley Davidson bike, I think people will listen to what he has to say. Experience is out of fashion presently but communication remains, and this is Mr. Byrne's art form.

Gay Byrne and his team are into suggestions, ideas, options, global trends and patterns also. This is healthy.

There is one point I would like to suggest.....
I take psychiatric medications now so I am not allowed to drive....but the question I ask is the 'mentality' of people driving'. The issue ought not to be Driving education at school as young as possible but there ought to be a pre-leaving cert dual approach to mentality i.e. covering mental heallth, mood disorder, alcohol, the recent reports from St. Patricks about binge drinking and the link to suicide.

I sustained brain injury in an accident....it is known as one of the silent epidemics. The hard part about it is that if regions affected in your brain are say comprehension; relativity, aphasia.....you can't convey to the people exactly where you are at. Worse, it takes you years to get the words to describe the losses.

Relativity is a word. It doesn't matter much when you are not out of synch with the general trend. However, if like me, circadium rhthym gone, no idea winter or summer, hungry or not, it does. It has to be a key part of my comprehension, in my one dimensional focus, otherwise my life is chaos....I lose my bag, my money, my checque cards, I see the green light for traffic as red and it goes on.....an on....until you get to the stage that you take control and you pace to the limited few thinks you can do in a day.......and you take rest.

Now back to mentality and driving. Stress, anxiety, distress, alcohol, drugs, anger.....surely we all can be honest enough and say that in a moment of anger, the car has had the exhilaration factor that forces us to maybe take a chance........

Mentality is something we need to learn about in younger years. In fact, i hear philosophy is becoming popular again England, maybe there ihere is a message here.........

15 years ago, I went to Florida and hired a car. I recall a kind of brick behind the accelator to stop cars exceeding the limit. I now here is Sweden there is a computerised gadget that tells you speed limits etc. These are practical but mentality is crucial.

The formation of an underclass and social exclusion are factors that need to be addressed,

Has anyone watched 'Read Write Now'. Professor Ian Richards and others provide a half hour screening assisting people using the visual, the sensual and other memory sources how to learn to read......

I would like to see a more pscyhologically driven road practice programme based on his expertise from the Neuro-psychology department in Trinity. Remove the fear element is a good start.

I have said too much no doubt but 2 more initiatives from the Samaritans.

The sale of dog tags with the Samaritans Number

Their research finding that in Ireland under 25's predominantly use the text. Now they have a 24 hour a day text service....This is well worth promoting.

I always end with a quotation

Martin Luther King Jr.
'Unless we learn to live as brothers, we will die together as fools"