About please talk

Please Talk was first launched in January 2007 in UCD in response to a number of deaths by suicide in the student population. Please Talk urges students to understand that talking is a strength, not of weakness, and if you’re experiencing problems while at college, there are people there who you can talk to. It promotes this message through a collaborative effort involving the various support services present in colleges up and down the country such as: chaplains, counsellors, student support officers, students’ unions, disability support services and many, many more.

Please Talk NUI Galway is a little different, in that we're not just encouraging students to talk, but staff as well. We're looking at the NUI Galway community as a whole - students interacting with students, students with staff, staff with staff, staff with students - it's hard to separate the two. We hope to become the focal point for all mental/emotional well-being activity on campus and act as a conduit for other groups to share their activities and events. Ideally, Please Talk will become the first port of call for anyone looking for information on support available to all members of the NUI Galway community.

The crux of this campaign is talking - feeling able to admit to a bad day, being able to support a friend, colleague or student through a tough time, sharing and encouraging successes, and above all, remembering that mental health is something we all have. It's also something we all have to look after, just as much as we do our physical health, and the easiest place to start is by simply talking. Take a look here to see some experiences which have been shared by students and staff. 

The national Please Talk campaign is supported by the HSE through the National Office of Suicide Prevention, and is part of the National Mental Health Strategy. Please Talk NUI Galway, while part of this larger campaign, is also funded by the NUI Galway/Students Union EXPLORE project.

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