Deconstructing the Stigma Around Mental Health

Deconstructing the Stigma Around Mental Health

At the end of November, thanks to the Youthfully Yours SK organization, we participated in a week-long training course on the topic of Deconstructing the Stigma Around Mental Health. Our different journeys (by plane and car to Braga, by various trains from Bratislava to Porto) converged in our room in the town of Guimarães. Later, the organizers surprised us with a lavish dinner.

The next day, we partly dedicated ourselves to exploring the city, which is Portugal's first coronation city and a UNESCO heritage site. Along the way, we also saw university matriculations, which take place practically every week, so we also caught them at the University of Porto. The program consisted of presentations by the organizers and participatory sessions, where we discussed mental illnesses or built mascots for our project.

During the week, we also visited the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology in Porto and found that each of us is capable of separating our real perception from the virtual when we jumped from a bridge over an animated skyscraper. After this experience, we had time to explore Ribeira in Porto.

On the last day, the organizers drove us along a winding road to the hotel, where we concluded our project with lectures on happiness and the activities of Ordem dos Psicólogicos. In addition to enjoying Portuguese gastronomy and local architecture, it was interesting to hear how different people can work with deconstructing the stigma of mental illnesses, whether as ADHD mentors in Corfu or as operators of the Lithuanian crisis line, and take away good examples from it.