May 2015 GROW in Ireland Newsletter
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Letting Go - with GROW
 The new wording for Step 5 of GROW’s 12 Step Program is: ‘We also tackled our weaknesses and failures’ (that’s after acknowledging our gifts and our strengths in Step 4). This paper, by Sarto from GROW’s Western Region, illustrates how “letting go” is an important aspect to Step 5.
1. Letting go of old beliefs: ‘Try harder, do better, be perfect’. These messages are tricks which people have played on us – parents, teachers, priests, older people. We can never achieve ‘perfectionism’. Until we ‘let go’ of those messages and tell ourselves that we are good enough, we will never be happy. Who we are is good enough.
2. Letting go of the need to control: Very often we want to control other people, we want to control situations, we want to control our relationships – we want to be in control most of the time. Letting go of our need to control can set us free. It can set our God free to send the best to us.
3. Letting go of anger: Anger is an emotion we are all prone to experience. Our goal would be to let go of anger and resentment. Anger is a powerful and sometimes a frightening emotion. It’s also a beneficial one when it’s not allowed to harden into resentment. It can help us if it points to problems, or signals to us that we need to change certain things. Letting go of resentments from the past is very important to our freedom of living today.
4. Letting go of guilt: Feeling good about ourselves is a choice we have. So is feeling guilty. When guilt is legitimate it acts as a warning, signalling that we are off course. Wallowing in guilt allows others to control us. It makes us feel not good enough. It prevents us from living a healthy life and from caring for ourselves. Even if we’ve done something that violates a value, extended guilt does not solve the problem, it prolongs the problem. So we must strive to let go of guilt.
5. Letting go of sadness: Unresolved sadness from the past can be a great block to our joy. If we denied pain in the past and didn’t deal with it then we suppressed all kinds of feelings. We denied them and so they turned into depressed or sad feelings. We have to deal with these feelings by opening up to someone about them. By crying and releasing the pain we get healing of the guilt we feel.
6. Letting go of the past: If we keep clinging to the past we will never live in the present.
7. Letting go of shame: We may have been victimised by others physically, sexually or exploited by the addictions of others. The guilt of the act of abuse belongs to the perpetrator not the victim.
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May Green Ribbon and Mental Health Events Nationwide
See Change, the National Stigma Reduction Partnership and its 90 partner organisations, including GROW, are rolling out the Green Ribbon Campaign again this May to get people talking openly about mental health problems. The aim is to make the month of May every year synonymous with promoting open conversation of mental health and challenging the stigma of mental health problems.
There are a huge number of events taking place nationwide and a list is available on the Green Ribbon Events page and some are also listed below. Check out the 2014 impact report. You can show your support on-line by adding a Green Ribbon to your profile picture or by supporting the Thunderclap National #TimeToTalk day (Friday 16th May).
GROW attending the GAA Health & Wellness Conference in Jacksons Hotel, Ballybofey.
GROW is involved in a number of events during May: -
- GROW Community Education courses:
- 5th May, 11am: The Yard, Falcarragh, Co. Donegal – An Introduction to Mindfulness by Maria Whelan, GROW Co-Ordinator.
- 11th May, 7:30pm: Family Resource Centre, Donegal Town - An Introduction to Mindfulness by Maria Whelan, GROW Co-Ordinator.
- 12th May, 7:30pm: Portarlington Community Centre, Portarlington, Co Laois - How GROW works – Christine Fitzgerald, GROW National Program Co-ordinator.
- GROW Coffee Mornings: To be advised later in the month.
- Find out more about how GROW works – check out our videos on You Tube.
- GROW has information stands at many of the Cycle Against Suicide events around the country from 27th April through to the finish in Dublin on 10th May.
 Green Ribbons will be distributed at many events and they are also available from Citizen’s Information Centres and GROW offices nationwide and from Irish Rail. We all love a chat with Taxi drivers and Lynk Taxis in Dublin are also distributing Green Ribbons throughout May. Green Ribbons will also be available at the Walk and Talk events, supported by the IFA, Coillte, Mental Health Ireland and See Change: -
- Friday, 8th May 2015 @ 7.00pm, walk around Lough Lannagh, Co. Mayo (meet in car park @ 6.50pm).
- Sunday, May 17th 2015 @ 3.00pm, Avondale – Co. Wicklow.
- Sunday, May 24th 2015 @ 3pm, Ards Forest Park – Co. Donegal.
There are also numerous other Mental Health related events (not all those listed below are Green Ribbon events) which may be of interest to GROWers nationwide: -
- 5th May: 9pm. #TalkingSoc Tweet Chat with Fiona Kennedy.
- 7th May: 1pm. Gateway Project presents The Big Thank You Party, 2 Parker Hill, Rathmines, Dublin.
- 7th May: 2-4pm. Mental Health Reform public meeting, Newgrange Hotel, Navan.
- 7th May: 5.15-6.15. Free Lecture “Internalised Stigma: Avoiding Negative Self Beliefs”, Trinity School of Nursing and Midwifery. Contact Jeni Ryan.
- 7th May: 6.30–7.30pm. Free Public Lecture: Working with Diversity in Therapy with facilitator Dil Wickremasinghe, PCI College, 7 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.
- 9th May: Closing date for Headline Award for Student Journalism relating to Suicide or Mental Health.
- 9th May: Women’s Way Health and Wellbeing Show, Silver Springs Hotel, Cork.
- 9th May: Pieta House Darkness into Light 5k dawn walks/runs nationwide.
- 9th May: Suicide or Survive “Strictly Come Dancing” Event, Pavilion, Red Cow, Naas Road, €20.
- 10th May: Garden Fete in aid of Lisa's Lights, Ardscoil Mhuire, Corbally, Limerick, 2-4pm, €2.
- 14th May: SOSAD Talk on Suicide, Tullamore Court Hotel, 6pm.
- 15th May: Girl Guides will be distributing Green Ribbons in train stations (Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Wexford mainline & DART).
- 16th May: National #TimeToTalk Day.
- 17th May: Limerick Mental Health Green Ribbon Event, Milk Market, 12-4.30pm.
- 18th May: Stamp out Stigma 5k Walk, Clontarf Promenade, 12pm.
- 24th May: Oughterad, Co. Galway: Mayfly 10k.
- 28th May: FRIENDS National Conference: “Involving Families in Recovery”, Clarion Hotel, Limerick. Contact Ann Marie Flanagan.
- 30th May: 2pm - Action for Suicide Prevention one year anniversary march from the Garden of Remembrance to Leinster House.
The St. John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, Dublin, ” Minding the Mind” series of public lectures takes place during April and May on Monday evenings (8:00 – 9:30pm): -
- 20th April: Mindfulness – Plain and Simple.
- 27th April: Medicines and My Mental Health.
- 11th May: Let’s Talk about Therapy.
- 18th May: Addiction Recovery – Approaches for Sustaining Self and Family.
- 25th May: Mental Health, Resilience and Determination.
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Running for GROW...!
This Bank Holiday Monday, all those who took part in the Great Limerick Run are resting. Many thanks to those who did the marathon relay for GROW (Robert, Rob, David and Kenneth) and those who did the 6 mile event (Marc, Aimee, Niall, Frank, Dermot, Darren and Karen). So far about €600 has been raised and once all sponsorship money is collected we expect to be near our target of €1,000. Keep an eye out on www.ilovelimerick.ie and www.irishtv.ie for PR pieces over coming week(s).
Some of the Great Limerick Runners outside the old GROW office on O'Connell St.
The Cork City Marathon (entries close this Friday) and VHI Women's Mini Marathon (closed for entries) both take place on the next Bank Holiday, Monday 1st June. If any of the entrants wish to run for GROW, please contact your regional GROW office for T-shirts and sponsorship cards.
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