An upcoming prevention program is addressing serious issues affecting teenagers and will give thousands of pupils, their parents, and educators essential tools and timely help to recognize and fight dependencies. The program is run by the Eustress Association in collaboration with the county’s Center for Mental Health (CSM). Along with attending courses, the participants will also develop the topic through creative processes, Márta Vargyas the project manager and president of the Association said.
In the past few months more juveniles from Csíkszereda/Miercurea-Ciuc have committed suicide because they couldn’t solve their dependencies by themselves, and the people around them didn’t notice they were struggling or weren’t equipped with the proper tools and knowledge to help them. The feeling of meaninglessness, the need or desire to comply with community expectations, and the fact that they don’t have the necessary tools to address the growing tension inside them could lead youngsters to depression and fantasies about committing suicide, according to Vargyas. This leaves them vulnerable, so it’s easy to fall into the trap of using chemical substances or other things such as video games that give the satisfaction they need.
The Teen Dependencies program addresses such problems through a plan developed and implemented by Vargyas that involves the pupils, their parents, and educators of eight Csíkszereda-based high schools.
“Although I’m not a psychologist, as a theater director I am officially involved with the human soul, cogitation, behavior, and conflicts, as well as the problems and deformations affecting a community. As artists we try to act as a sponge and collect the “water” from the surrounding springs and plashes, and then we “ask questions” related to them through a story or train of thought. Recently, I have realized – while staging theater plays will always remain my first love – that there are topics that require a more creative and active approach to foster a change instead,” Vargyas said in an interview with Székelyhon.
The program focuses on youth and their educators, but the results will affect all citizens of the city. To achieve a balance, three things need fulfillment: we need to feel that we are good at something, that we can progress in it, and that we have the freedom of decision. The third is to feel important to others, as they are to ourselves, and this is the connection point. It’s weird that most of the kids have experienced these in online games through collecting points, progressing to new levels, and enjoying the limitless retry options with the fighter of their choice whenever they want.
“Our goal is not just to deal with dependencies, but to highlight why it is important to live a balanced life in a mentally healthy community. I don’t think we should protect our children or young adults from everything, but we need to set an example and show perspectives. If we, adults, cannot positively influence our feelings and life, what can we expect from a child?” she asks.
During the first few months, the Teen Dependencies program will focus on assessing the mental health of the youngsters in the city. This will give us enough data to select the most effective and specific tools to heal the wounds affecting the people living in this area. Vargyas and her team will use formal and non-formal, interactive methods in the prevention schedule.
During the program, the participating pupils will meet each other’s schools, educators, and opportunities, as well as discover the usefulness of their abilities and orientation in the mirror of their own life and skills. The connections they make as teens will be useful during their adulthood; hence, this will become a priceless value of the upcoming generation benefiting the development of the city and region, says Vargyas, elaborating on the long-term benefits of the Teens Dependencies program.
The organizers welcome help and donations of any kind that make this program more feasible and effective. The creative team behind the freshly established Eustress Association can be reached via email at a.eustress@gmail.com.
