OPINION (AN COLÚN): A special place for all opens in Lough Boora

Standing in the geodome at an official opening in Lough Boora on Friday afternoon, I looked around at the forty or fifty people attending. I was glad to see that only a couple of them were absorbed in their smartphones. Everybody else was chatting, in a friendly, animated way. So often when I am in public a lot of people are stuck in their phones and shut off from interaction with others.
Of course this can be a good thing, because sometimes we are in a very boring situation or else we want to give our mind a mindless scrolling break before reengaging with the world around us.
This absorbed, mindless scrolling can be the adult version of the child hiding behind the cornflakes box at breakfast. Many of us did that when we were kids, perhaps because we were moody teenagers or we were simply just mindlessly messing around. Perhaps irritated by our siblings we hid behind the cereal boxes and ate our cornflakes, uncommunicating and absorbed in our own thoughts.
Smartphones are invaluable tools which ably assist us in our navigation through life, but it's vitally important to maintain a healthy relationship with them. For those of us with an addictive nature they can be dynamite, dragging us down into the dark and damaging parts of the human psyche. There are boxes in our brains which are best left closed. Smartphones tempt us to open them.
We need to maintain a balanced relationship with smartphones, because it's vital for our mental health. By making seemingly small changes in your behaviour you can notice big dividends, mentally speaking. For example, people who report cutting back on their binge-watching of series on Netflix or other streaming platforms, and taking up more book reading, say they feel better and somehow more complete. There is something special about reading a book (in print form) which nothing else can emulate. Book reading is a habit which, when once cultivated it would be unwise to forego or cut back on.
It's also essential to maintain a balanced approach to our social interactions. Too much social interaction and we become worn out, overwhelmed with people's negativity and stupidity. Too little and we start feeling very odd indeed; we feel deeply incomplete.
Friday afternoon in the geodome was the positive side of social interaction. It was a happy, positive event and everybody was tuned into that mood. There was also a sense that we were really enjoying chatting with each other after being segregated so long from one another because of Covid.
The thing being launched was a facility for the general public called 'An Portach Ciúin', which means The Quiet Bog. This is a fabulous facility and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's open for all and will benefit all. It will assist people suffering from mental disabilities or from a terminal illness, but it will also benefit everyone else. Here is the perfect place to switch off from our 'monkey brains' filled with such things as the pressures of the world, anxiety about money issues, the pain of having been bullied, and worries about our health. With its woodland tracks, wetland views, Tadhg's Garden, and Soft Bog Walk, An Portach Ciúin is a peaceful place to stroll, sit and soak up the natural world. The developers say it is “an inclusive place, open to all.” They add: “As you enter, we invite you to take a deep breath in and while you exhale allow any stresses and worries of your everyday life to drift away. Instead focus on the sights and sounds of this calming space.”
Research shows that places like An Portach Ciúin are badly needed. Academics from Maynooth University, National College of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin recently published some research which found that 42% of Irish adults have a mental health disorder and more than one in ten have attempted suicide. The study, which consists of a nationally representative sample of 1,100 adults living in Ireland is the first comprehensive assessment of the occurrence of multiple mental health disorders and attempted suicide in the Republic of Ireland. The researchers said the most common disorder they found was Insomnia Disorder (15%). Other notable disorders were Major Depression Disorder at 12%, Alcohol Use Disorder at 9%, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder at 7%. People in the population most likely to have a mental health disorder were younger in age, working in a job requiring shift work, and had experienced a traumatic life event.
Dr Philip Hyland, from Maynooth University said the 42% figure is similar to what has been found in the United States and New Zealand.
“Mental health disorders are extremely common,” he said, “ and it is important that the public and the Irish Government understand the level of need that exists.”