Informed youth build a strong society: RSU students educate Olaine community on psycho-emotional health

Photo: Courtesy of the RSU Psychiatry Student Scientific Interest Group

Thanks to an initiative launched and led by Alise Rakiša, a youth representative of Olaine Municipality, an educational lecture series titled Atbalsta plecs (A Shoulder to Lean On) was organised. With the participation of members from the RSU Psychiatry Student Scientific Interest Group, young people in Olaine were introduced to key mental health topics, including various mental illnesses, their symptoms, and how to recognise them. Over the course of several lectures, participants also learned about strategies for prevention and ways to reduce the associated risks.

Throughout the four meetings, key aspects of psycho-emotional health were explored – a topic that forms one of the essential pillars of a person's overall quality of life and well-being.

Lecture topics included:

• How do physical activities affect the brain, mood, and sleep?
  Presented by 5th-year medical student Sofija Liskova

• Scientifically proven learning strategies – the Pomodoro technique, active recall, concept mapping
  Presented by 5th-year medical student Rinalds Einiks

• Types of addiction (digital, chemical, behavioural, emotional, financial, physiological) and their development mechanisms
  Presented by medical students Rinalds Einiks and Evelīna Ģeidāne

• What is psycho-emotional well-being? How to differentiate between mood swings and depression?
  Presented by 6th-year medical student Marija Pavļukoviča

• Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and other eating disorders – causes, consequences, and ways to get help
  Presented by 5th-year medical student Dins Mironovs

• What is stress and what can be done about it?
  Presented by 5th-year medical student Dins Mironovs

'This educational initiative highlights the crucial importance of developing an awareness of psycho-emotional health from an early age. In today’s world, where mental health issues are rapidly increasing—especially among young people—such initiatives are essential. Young people are not only a reflection of society but also the architects of our future.

Their emotional well-being, understanding of themselves and others, and ability to recognise important warning signs in time will help shape our society tomorrow,'

according to the project's coordinator and 5th-year medical student Dins Mironovs.

'I believe that an informed society is a strong society. Educating the public isn’t just about reducing risks—it’s about fostering presence, empathy and the ability to act before problems even surface.

Knowledge of mental health empowers people to seek help in time, breaking down stigmas and opening a path toward a fulfilling life with fewer resource demands,'

Mironovs adds. 'As medical students and future physicians, we are honoured to be part of this process and hope that projects like this will become an integral part of public education in the future.'