OUR BLOG.
News & Articles.
Our website marks a very significant step in our journey. We want to continue to create and expand a community of people who recognise the importance of mental health education from an early age. It is however never too late to learn as we have heard from many people in their 70s who have completed our programmes.
The following articles serve to give you a deeper insight into why we started BW.DW., how we have progressed and our plans for the future. Connection is key and what you read is how we are! Aoife will be moving to the United States of America soon (July 2021). Going forward we will develop BW.DW across the Atlantic Ocean and are very excited about what lies ahead. Thank you for your time and attention.
Time to Unfold
By Laurie Morrissey So the boy has been starkers since approximately 6.30pm last night. He didn’t fancy putting on his pyjamas, wasn’t pushed when it came to getting dressed this morning and is now happily enjoying a post-lunch nap, au natural. In fairness, it’s been business as usual with...
The Struggle of Identity as an Artist
By Melissa Lipnick If I'm being honest, I went to graduate school to obtain a title. I had a need for validation, and only three little letters next to my name could provide what I was seeking: M.F.A. Growing up, I drew and painted, sang and performed, and immersed myself in anything creative...
Teaching Post Pandemic
No teacher, parent, SNA or principal will ever forget the 12th of March 2020. The day we were all told we had one hour to close our buildings down and organise three weeks of work for the entire school. Cue sweat, internal tears and a lot of queuing at the photocopier. Little did we know our...
It Starts With Us
I remember that morning so well. My daughter, 23 months old, I shouted, she covered her face with both of her hands, my heart sank. In that moment I could see history was repeating itself and that my stress was negatively impacting my parenting and in turn my daughter. I could feel myself as a...
Selectively Social
By Laurie Morrissey Have I ever mentioned I’m a very sociable introvert? Well I am. And so, of course I should have tonnes of empathy for others with similar social tendencies. Except that my vanity and striving to appear ‘nice’ to people makes it trickier than you might think. My children err...
Boundaries
“I was fifty years old before I learned to say the word no” my mother said and it was true. I vowed that I would do my best to ensure this didn’t become a family tradition. Setting boundaries is an important part of establishing our identity and is a crucial aspect of mental health. It is not...
The Irish Band Aid
One of the greatest learnings from the Mindfulness in Education Conference in 2017 was our introduction to the concept of the Invalidating Environment (IE). Here are a few examples to illustrate what the IE is: Scenario 1: Teenager and Mother“You’re grand. Sure what would you have to be...
Coping with Change & Grief
Change and Loss are two things in life that are guaranteed. They are universal experiences that nobody can avoid. The global pandemic has turned many of our worlds upside-down and forced us to experience massive changes in our lives. Things that we took for granted were taken from us suddenly...
A Lightbulb Moment
Looking back, the sequence of events that followed our initial meeting in Aoife’s kitchen in Meath illustrated that we had set something in motion. We were unaware at the time exactly what it was, but we were committed to finding solutions to the mental health crisis we were witnessing in our...
A Kitchen in Meath
... where the seeds of BeWell-DoWell were planted. There we were. The two of us in Aoife’s new kitchen as the evening light faded. It was not a new kitchen but new to Aoife. Armed with posters and markers we were determined to try to figure out what was happening. We met in teacher training...
