As one of my close friends who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder put it, “It’s embarrassing if people know. They treat you differently.”

Tackling this stigma is one of the most important aims of World Mental Health Awareness Day, which takes place on October 10 this year.
Given the statistics, it’s surprising we don’t like to talk about mental health. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point. Depression is particularly common – at any given time, more than 450,000 Irish people are living with it.
While it’s true that some people have a genetic tendency towards depression or bipolar disorder, which is characterised by alternating periods of depression and elation, depression can affect anybody because it can be triggered by a life event, such as bereavement, unemployment or a break-up.
Even the famous and successful have experienced depression. Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Beyoncé and Kirsten Dunst are supposedly all sufferers. Winston Churchill famously referred to his depression as his “black dog.”
Closer to home, Michael Pope of Le Galaxie, one of Ireland’s most exciting new bands, has spoken openly about the depression that has affected him since his early 20s.
“I was suffering in silence and fear. The key there is fear. You think – is this what happens to mad people? You lose all sense of comfort, calm and self-awareness and you think you are simply going crazy. It’s a red hot fear to think that you’re losing control,” says Michael. “I felt haggard from the crippling anxiety I was feeling, which led to depression. The urge was to sleep all the time.”
Aware, the national organisation which provides support and information to the depressed as well as their families and friends, explains that typical symptoms include feeling sad or anxious; a change in sleep or appetite; poor concentration or indecision; low self-esteem; physical aches and pains; loss of interest in hobbies, family or life itself. If you experience five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or longer, it’s important to get information, support and help.
For Michael, the recognition that he needed help clicked one day.
“That was a huge day. I vividly remember every single moment that day. There was a moment of realisation around lunchtime that I had to do something about this. It was a gorgeous day. It was a positive day. I did what scared me most, and that has to be exhilarating. I feel lucky to have sought treatment when I did. It's not failure, it's bravery, to take that step.”
For some people, suicide seems the only way out. Last year, 486 Irish people took their own lives. Although that’s less than in 2009, Pieta House, a suicide crisis centre, has reported a 40% increase in the numbers of people contacting them in the first six months of 2011.
Young men are especially vulnerable, often because they believe they have failed to live up to social expectations of what it takes to be a ‘real’ man.
“We’re seeing a lot more young men, many of whom are unemployed and feel they have no role in society,” says Joan Freeman, CEO of Pieta House. A culture where men are discouraged from discussing their feelings does nobody any favours as talking can really help, she says.
“We know that talking to a friend or a family member when you’re in distress can alleviate the pressure and lead to getting help.”
Another organisation striving to inform people about mental health issues is GROW, who recently launched a National Gatekeeper programme to highlight these issues. The programme is free of charge: those who take part will learn how to identify people with suicidal thoughts, how to put them in touch with the resources they need, and how best to manage and control stress levels.
Michelle Kerrigan, CEO of GROW, explains: “With these programmes, we are trying to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues. None of us are inclined to talk about these issues but through these programmes we are fostering awareness, and informing the public.
“Suicide in Ireland has been described as ‘rampant’ by a senior coroner. Since the recession, we’ve found that more people need to talk about issues such as stress management, coupled with how to cope with bereavement, and suicide."
Manus Hanratty of SpunOut.ie notes that young people have been especially victimised by the recession and that this can have a major knock-on effect on mental health.
“There’s a lot of lip service paid to young people being the future. However our youth are now suffering massively from the devastating economic turndown, resulting in cutbacks in education and high unemployment levels and emigration for those who can. For many others there is a growing feeling of hopelessness which is increasing levels of alcohol and drug abuse, anti-social behaviour, homelessness, mental health problems and suicide,” says Hanratty.
Helping to lift the lid on the silence that surrounds mental health problems are a number of innovative projects such as the Think Big Music Workshop taking place on October 15.
Organised by O2 and Headstrong, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health, it will allow over 40 young people to explore the connection between mental health and music at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios.
Think Big will cover the role of music in young people’s mental health and give participants the chance to take part in workshops in songwriting, performance and sound engineering.
As most music fans will tell you, music helps access a variety of emotions, which is why we have such a strong relationship with it. A 2007 study found that music helps people cope with negative emotions and difficulties as well as identifying feelings, clarifying thoughts and working through conflicts. Next time someone complains about your attachment to your iPod, tell them that!
As Nuala Smith, Think Big Co-ordinator at Headstrong notes: “Music and emotions are intricately entwined: both performing and listening to music helps us to relax, connect, feel soothed and be inspired in its expression of joy, hope and melancholy. We’ve organised this workshop to kickstart a discussion amongst a group of young people on the role that music plays in our mental health.”
Attendance is open to those who’ve taken part in previous Think Big projects as well as young people seeking to carry out projects that promote mental health through music. There are two spaces available for Hot Press readers, between the ages of 14 and 25. If you want to find out more, email [email protected].
You may also wish to visit ReachOut.com. This is a website that helps young people through tough times. To do so, ReachOut arms them with the information they need to tackle depression, anxiety and stress. There are also a number of issues affecting young people that can be stressful, making them feel alone and misunderstood, like bullying, relationships, coming out as homosexual, loss and grief and things that occur making the transition into young adulthood. Because of this ReachOut tries to emphasise that everyone needs a dig-out at some stage. Even the most seemingly unlikely people need to develop their own coping mechanisms to get through tough times, or just life. And that’s OK.
“We’re trying to change the conversation around mental health,” says Elaine Geraghty, chief executive of ReachOut.com. “We’re there to help people identify when something might be wrong, and to give them information on where they might find the support that they need. We do this by being user-friendly and easy to access, and by promoting positive messages through ambassadors like MTV’s Laura Whitmore and the comedian Jason Byrne who have been great supporters of ours.”
ReachOut.com is promoted through a mix of online and community marketing and promotion. That can include search engine optimisation to help push the site up the rankings in Google search results or engaging revellers at festivals like Oxegen where ReachOut.com volunteers and staff operated a “pimp my wellies” service this year. Since launching in early 2010 ReachOut.com has attracted over 200,000 unique Irish visits and is averaging around 3,000 unique Irish visits every week. The ReachOutIreland Facebook page has around 3,500 likes. According to Elaine Geraghty,“Because mental health problems are being experienced every day by so many young people, and because the internet is so central to our daily lives and is becoming more and more accessible, ReachOut.com just makes sense”.
Another innovative development is the HeadsUp Movie Awards. Launched by Sinéad Kennedy and Paul Walsh of RTÉ’s Two Tube, they’re organised by HeadsUp with the support of Two Tube and the National Office for Suicide Prevention. The idea is for young people to create mini-movies about mental health with the aim of reducing the stigma around the issue.
Collette Ryan, HeadsUp project manager explains, “There can be significant stigma associated with discussing mental health issues and all too often this can impact on a person’s willingness to seek help. Lack of information and fear contributes to these attitudes, so the aim of these awards is to get our creative juices flowing in challenging negative attitudes and in creating a better understanding of the issues surrounding mental health.”
As well as being a worthy cause, the prizes are pretty fantastic – a €5,000 prize fund, an opportunity to shadow a leading filmmaker or animator for a day and best of all, the winning entries will be showcased on national television.
If you don’t have a creative bone in your body, you can still support Mental Health Awareness Day. Headstrong argues that informing yourself and talking about mental health can help challenge negative stereotypes. Even getting to the end of this article means you’re receptive to becoming more informed. Now switch on some music and check out the web resources overleaf for more information.