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Vanessa Aird
EDUC 815-911

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Presenter Introduction & Research Overview

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Presenter Introduction & Research Overview

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Mental Health: a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being.

Adolescent: (of a young person) in the process of developing from a child into an adult.

Mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique

Dance Therapy: psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual, for the purpose of improving health and well-being

Stigma:
a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person

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She Calls Grenada Home!

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With Grenada being such a small country, very little research has been done on adolescents in general. There has been research done on the educational system as a whole but none addressing the importance or significance of mental health services for students. We do know the struggles many young women in the caribbean are facing but the research does not tie it to mental/emotional well being. In addition, Alternative therapies in schools has yet to be explored.

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As a product of Grenadian immigrants, an educator and a dancer, it is my goal to merge all of my passions and talents into researching how Dance education can aid young women in Grenada. With the majority living in poverty, with no access to resources, it is crucial that alternative therapies are explored. Research will be conducted on the island through a partnership with the major high schools and my non-profit, Harmony Dance Academy (HDA), which serves over 100 young women annually. A large aspect of our curriculum is mindfulness and reflection. I've seen the short term effects this can have on my students. I look forward to conducting this research, resulting in how the educational system in Grenada can implement such programming throughout the school year.

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by Donella Hosten As Grenada joins the rest of the world in recognising World Health Day under the theme "Depression: Let's Talk" on Friday, 7 April 2017, two Senior Medical Officers attached to the Ministry of Health address the issue of depression in Grenada.
Dr Sonia Nixon, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) responsible for Chronic Diseases and by extension, Mental Health, said she believes that the "Let's talk" in the 2017 theme is "brought up as an annex," as depression is something that persons do not generally want to talk about. She drew reference to persons who may say they are not feeling well, but due to the stigma and discrimination attached to depression, they are afraid to express exactly how they feel.

Feelings of anxiety, fearfulness, hopelessness, lack of pleasure and isolation are among the gamut of symptoms of depression, lasting for more than 2 weeks. Dr Nixon cited that 1 in every 4 persons will experience depression in their lifetime, and this can range from mild, to chronic, or severe depression.

Simple depression can be traced to situations such as financial trouble, traumatic experiences; whereas chronic or severe depression can be traced to much deeper emotional troubling experiences.

Additionally, the SMO said there are people who are depressed for no external reason, because of their family history of depression. While some can become depressed as a side effect of medications for ailments such as High Blood Pressure and severe illnesses, which tend to be "more difficult to manage." Some contraceptives can also cause depression.

In addressing the treatments available and how people cope with depression, Dr Nixon stated that "Grenada is no different to any other country in how depression is expressed." She said females tend to engage in "talk therapy," which simply means talking to their friends or a professional about their problems or how they feel. Most males, on the other hand, resort to drinking or the use of substances.

For those individuals who experience more severe depression, they can be treated with medication, which, according to Dr Francis Martin, SMO, is usually not the first mode of treatment.

Medications such as anti-depressants can be prescribed by a psychiatrist. This medication takes approximately 2 weeks to start working. According to Dr Nixon, persons can be placed on medication for months, depending on the severity of their depression. Although depression does not always go away, there is treatment. "There is therapy," Dr Nixon commented. She went on to say that for persons with depression, the "end of the road" can be suicide, hence it is important to identify depression as early as possible, as there is depression in all age groups.

Alhough most literature covering depression mainly focuses on adults, there are cases of depression in children and adolescents.

In addition to the medication and talk therapy, Dr Nixon spoke briefly of the Mt Gay Hospital; the island's lone mental health treatment facility, which was created because of the need.

There is a significant need for persons to know and be aware of the symptoms and causes of depression. Dr Martin, who is also the President of the Grenada Medical Association, added that menopause in women and andropause in men can lead to depression. "After the age of 40, men's testosterone levels start dropping by 1% a year, and that leads to some form of depression later on in their life."

Adding to some of the triggers that Dr Nixon mentioned, Dr Martin noted that abuse, unemployment especially among youths, relationships, stress on the jobs and stigma and discrimination can lead to depression as well. He also stated that the stigma and discrimination attached to depression makes it even harder to treat it, as people are not willing to "accept the diagnosis of depression."

Going a bit more in-depth about depression and the workplace, Dr Martin said the workplace is one of those areas where depression exists. "The increase of cortisol in our body causes our hormones in our brains to get disorganised." He therefore urged and encouraged employers and supervisors to be aware of their workers and the work environment.

In speaking about the coping mechanisms of some individuals, Dr Martin stressed on the use of substances, which, in some instances, creates problems in itself. "As a country, as a community, we have to look at all of those persons," and address human rights issues, gender issues, because "those matters are very significant areas where depression can exist."

Both doctors agree that the issue of depression is far deeper and cross-cutting, and ought to be talked about across the social strata. Therefore, the conversation of depression must be ongoing.

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As Grenada joins the rest of the world in recognising World Health Day under the theme "Depression: Let's Talk" on Friday, 7 April 2017, two Senior Medical Officers attached to the Ministry of Health address the issue of depression in Grenada.

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Greetings from HDA!

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How can schools/the educational system in Grenada better support the emotional/mental well being of its female students?

What impact does the lack of emotional support have on the future opportunities for women in Grenada?

How can alternative therapies, such as dance, serve as a method for young women to better express themselves and increase their self-esteem and overall emotional health?

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We all know that the success of a person is directly tied to their emotional and mental well being. So why isn’t Grenada doing more to address this issue? In my time working with youth in Grenada, it had become quite evident that schools were not properly staffed with teachers/counselors that were able to address the emotional needs of students. With such a great emphasis on academics, their emotional well being receives little to no attention or resources. Students complained of having no one to talk to, and the few schools that have counselor, students don’t trust to uphold confidentiality, rendering the position useless. In the meantime, our young women are suffering. One must take a closer look!

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Currently, the Grenada poverty rate stands at 32 percent. The country also has the highest extreme poverty rate in the eastern Caribbean, with a rate of 13 percent. It has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Caribbean as well. Could a part of this be due to a neglect to address the mental wellness of its citizens at an early age?

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HDA Grenada 2016

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Mindfulness Matters!