On November 2nd, Agora Aveiro took a peculiar structure to Praça do Doutor Joaquim de Melo Freitas: a “box” surrounded with curtains, strategically positioned to arouse curiosity. This year, our traditional mental health promotion event did not take place on the usual October 10th, World Mental Health Day. We chose a date outside of the awareness month, to remind people that mental health requires attention and care every day.

The seemingly simple structure hid a surprise. The challenge was straightforward: to praise, as quickly as possible, whoever showed up after the countdown. The surprise? When the curtains opened, participants were faced with… their own reflection in a mirror! Without counting down, participants were faced with the task of praising themselves. Although it may seem simple, the difficulty some participants had in expressing a positive word about their own image is a reflection of what we often try to ignore — how rarely we take care of ourselves and recognize our qualities.

With this action, which attracted participants from 4 to 94 years old, we wanted to highlight that praise and self-praise are small but powerful gestures that help promote health and that can be practiced daily. This type of exercise is also an important step in combating the “pandemic” of mental illness, which has ravaged our society.

Throughout the morning, we witnessed several reactions, but in the end, everyone who dared to give us a minute of their time left with a smile on their face. Each person took away a moment of introspection and the certainty that small gestures of kindness, such as praising oneself or others, can have a big impact.

The structure will now be taken to a school, where it will continue its mission of fostering self-confidence and self-esteem in children and young people. We believe that actions like this are essential to building a more confident generation that is aware of the importance of taking care of their mental health from an early age.

At the same time, the project was part of a guerrilla action at the University of Aveiro to address the influence of intrusive thoughts, which affects young students especially.

At Agora Aveiro, we are convinced that promoting mental health should be constant and accessible to everyone. Small daily actions — such as smiling in the mirror, saying something positive about ourselves or offering someone a sincere compliment — are simple but effective steps in building a world where mental health is not just a topic of awareness, but a pillar of daily well-being.

“Reflexos Intrusivos” is supported by the Município de Aveiro and IPDJ - Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude, I.P..