best of luck in the future! good to see someone talking about mental health.

Well done Ciaran. I believe the key to smashing the stigma around mental illnesses is demystifying peoples experiences and accepting it as a normal and common component of the human condition. I wish you well in your ongoing recovery/ discovery.

Best of luck to you and your future plans. I hope you make a great of ‘things to do’ and may all your positives chase the negatives away!

So important, and courageously written.

Well done Ciaran. Excellent article and very brave to come out and talk about it all. I hope everything works out for you. Keep up all the excellent work with #sundaycookoff on twitter!

Hi Ciaran well done I have great respect for you. I know someone trying to come to terms with been bipolar and it’s a hard road for her and us her family. Putting that aside I wish you the very best with your life well done.

Ciaran
I have to say this is one of the best ever articles I have read on the Journal and I read them all!!! It’s reads like I’m sure it actually was, scary but worth it. I wish you the best, confronting your problems , which you have done, is half the battle. Onward and upward! Brilliant.

Heart breaking and so couragrous in speaking out . Good Luck for the future

Great article, it takes courage to write and publish this. I’m very glad you found it a positive experience. Unfortunately not everyone does. I would put it that while the reasons for entering care may be addressed, the being in a care facility puts a person in a very fragile place emotionally and that can open up a lot of doors that lead to frightening places. Institutionalisation is scary to, being in a facility gives a person a sense of belonging in a sealed community but it makes it difficult to a person to see themselves as “healthy”. At the end of the day, the only person that can say you are healthy and functioning is you yourself, no one else.

But this is only my opinion. No one chooses a mental institution just because they’re acting out, if someone needs professional help, don’t hesitate, just get it. Great article, so thank you.

its great to see something positive. I think this article will be very beneficial to a lot of people whom need mental health care . well done for writing this and the very best of luck for the future!

The Irish Government should be doing a lot more to help people with mental health problems.

Thank you for sharing your story Ciaran. The courage it took to do this and come out the other side is inspiring. Mental health is a taboo issue in this country and its a barrier that needs to be removed so that others dont suffer needlessly. Telling your story like this will help to tear down those barriers and I wish you all the best for the future.

Well done Ciaran. Thanks for a brilliant article. There is still such a stigma surrounding mental health issues in this country. Honest people like you help sufferers and the greater the awareness the better.

Well written article about mental health, also good to hear such positivity regarding this issue.

Very brave and an inspiration..keep going…. :-)

This country needs a lot more people talking about mental health issues and treatment. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Good luck for the future.

i had a few mental problems once upon a time took me many goes to get it right but i must say i loved every min of time getting help because the people in these places deservers rewards for what they do. took me 3rd time lucky to get things rite, but fingers crossed ill stay there.

Im so glad i read this article, well written and positive, thank you for writing it. I talk openly about my experience with post natal depression in the hope it might help someone else. I feel lucky that i sought treatment and it worked. I wish you the very same luck x

Finally, a man with true guts! So many people I know don’t have the guts or the integrity to do something about their issues. You are a great example of manhood, maturity, integrity. You’ll do very well in life.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Respect!

I hope this uplifting story will encourage more folk to speak out so positively! Whether it be a simple physical illness or a more complex mental health issue, society needs to now start accepting that the time comes when sometimes one needs healing. We need to work much harder at eliminating the social “stigma” still attached to mental health issues. There is a great deal of help out there, and, this report is proof of the many successes that are taking place!

Ciaran, you are an amazing person, and have answered a lot of my questions I could not ask of a loved one. Thank you so much for posting this.

Thank you for sharing your story, Ciaran. I wish you health in the coming years and a full and joyful life.

And I wish to give another message: to any prospective firm or person or institution who might, in future, decide to penalise a capable and intelligent man like Ciaran, or discriminate against him for his honesty, or deny him employment for a treatable condition, or shame him in society, because of this necessary episode – please be assured that many thousands of Irish people are watching you and we have had enough of your kind. Enough. Do not stigmatise our tribe any more. Your behaviour shall not be tolerated. And I sign this comment with my own name.

Such an inspiration Ciaranfor people struggling with mental health issues. I am in awe as always and someday hope to have your courage.

Great to see someone that has the guts to talk about this thank you

Thank you for your candour and honesty in writing this article. The more people talk about mental health issues in such an open manner, the better for everyone. I’m tired of the attitudes of ‘shush’, ‘sure what do you have to be sad about’ or ‘cheer up’ when it comes to talking about depression and I’m sure discussions on other mental illnesses can be the same. As many have mentioned here, the removal of that stigma is the first and most important thing towards helping people who suffer from mental illness and more articles like this will advance such a cause!

All the thumbs up pressed on this site should just go to this..

Congratulations on your recovery and for your honesty. I think it’s important to say not everyone has positive experiences in these institutions. There is a very limited approach taken and patients are not encouraged to be active participants in their recovery. By all means get help but Hospitalisation should be an absolutely last resort. I hope your recovery continues and thank you for getting poeple talking about mental health.

So good ( and so unusual) to hear somebody had a good experience in a hospital in Ireland I wish you well in the future well done.

Ciaran. Well done on ahving the courage to speak out about your experience of mental illness and I’m delighted you had a positive experience of the mental health system. If it’s not too intrusive a question, I’m wondering if you were treated in a private or a HSE facility?
Unfortunately I have to add my own voice to that of Thomas Roddy and Robin Boots. I had some terrible experiences in the mental health system. I recieved several diagnoses, was detained against my will on many occasions and was put on various medications including anti-depressants, anto-psychotics, tranquillizers and sleeping pills. I was told I was just like a diabetic and would need to be on some form of medication for the rest of my life.
Eventually, after years of the same revolving door, I was admitted to a private psychiatric hospital in Dublin. After a week my consultant came in and told me I wasn’t mentally ill as far as he could make out. That was around eight years ago.
From my own experience I’d guess that over-diagnosis of mental illness is a huge problem in Ireland. Many people have had their lives transformed by psychiatry and find the medication really useful, as this story attests. I don’t belive in good drugs or bad drugs, only in good or bad prescribing. Over-prescribing is bad prescribing. I often hear the statistic “one in four will experience mental health problems” and it drives me nuts. Tiis made-up statistic has the twin effect of pathologising feelings of distress or behavioural problems and simultaneously decreasing empathy for those whose problems are genuinely medical.

Nice to hear a positive story , great insight into the world of mental health issues. Best of luck and thank you for sharing

Ciaran,
Well done on writing of your experiences of being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. It reminds me so much of when I was admitted to psychiatric hospital at the age of 20 with severe depression. I was terrified anyone that knew me would recognise me. I remember thinking when I first went in I wouldn’t tell anyone my name but within a minute of going in I met a man who originally came from my home village but who had spent around 30 years in the hospital at this stage and was given certain responsibilities there like a member of staff eventhough he was technically still a patient. He asked me my name, I told him, he said he knew my father. My secret was out.
You seem to have benefitted from the medication you were given. However I disagree with the medical model that psychiatrists operate under. In my opinion the majority, if not all, psychiatric illnesses have their roots in emotional problems. In my own case I was diagnosed as suffering from manic depression having spent a second period in hospital after my first admission. During both periods no effort was made to look at any other difficulties I was experiencing at the time – and there were many.

In the psychiatrist’s viewpoint, I suffered from depression, there was a chemical imbalance in my mind and I needed medication to correct this chemical imbalance. In my late 20s, after moving to a new area of the country when my depression got out of control and the medication wasn’t helping, I made contact with Professor Ivor browne, then chief psychiatrist in the Eastern Health Board who felt, as I did, that there was a reason for my depression; and I commenced psychotherapy.

It’s nearly 19 years since I came off the lithium which I was told at the age of 20 I would be on for the rest of my life. In my view the medical model of treating mental illnesses is a fallacy. It may alleviate some of the symptoms. In some people like me it doesn’t and can even make certain conditions worse. It deadens the person and numbs their feelings. It’s only in the process of psychotherapy I regained a sense of myself and was able to deal with the issues that were behind my depression.

Gutsy, honest article, good luck to you, hope you remain healthy, seems like you are on the right track.
Well done.

Glad you had a positive experience of the “mental health system” but not everyone has such a positive experience. For some it can be a nightmare. Especially if you are locked away in some backwater hospital, even though you have not been a danger to yourself or others. I was actually on an “anti-depressant” when I developed symptoms of Bipolar disorder/Manic Depression. I recently listened to a podcast/slides by Professor of Psychiatry David Healy who highlights the truth about these psychoactive drugs/”anti-depressants”. He gave a lecture at Trinity at the beginning of the month. Big Pharma hides some of the negative trials on these drugs. They can increase the risk of suicide and if a woman is pregnant or gets pregnant, there is an increased risk of miscarriage or damage to the baby. Never stop medication without consulting a doctor as there could be withdrawal symptoms. Dr Peter Breggin has also written a paper that claims “anti-depressants”/SSRIs increase the risk of suicide, violence and mania. The last part “mania” resonates with me. There were probably a number of factors but I do believe an “anti-depressant” was part of it.

There are also drugs that called “anti-psychotics” which are in fact tranquillizers (or at least have a tranquilising effect, if you do not like to hear that). There are even law_suits against some of these drugs so always do your research, as doctors or Psychiatrists will not tell you these things. Some of these drugs will leave you sleeping well into the afternoon, which is hardly a “cure”. Rapid weight gain is something I experienced. And some of them can also cause diabetes.

While some of these drugs can be helpful in a crisis, I believe the answer lies in a Psychosocial approach. Psychotherapy can help. Even though I spent 2 months in hospital, I never got one minute of Psychotherapy, which says a lot about our mental health system, where the emphasis is drugs. Meditation and Yoga can help when done regularly. Omega-3 can help with Depression. Diet and exercise is important. I try to take a good multi-vitamin sometimes. One that does not have Copper in it. The WRAP programme by Mary Ellen Copeland is something that can help. Its about Wellness and Recovery. If out of work a person needs a structure. Use a diary to plan the week. Try some voluntary work until you get a job. Keep busy and active.

There are a few doctors I listen to when dealing with my mental health. No one told me the truth at the beginning about the fact that an anti-depressant could have been part of the problem (I was in my late 30s). So I am quite sceptical about most of them. I have been called “non-compliant” but I will not be intimidated. Professor Ivor Browne is probably one of the few Psychiatrists in Ireland that I would listen to or trust. He has over 50 years experience in the field.

In this era I do not believe locking someone up is of any benefit to the patient unless is exceptional circumstances. With the help of someone independent, ie a Mental Health Advocate, who I was on the phone to at the time, I would have gone voluntarily to a private hospital. Instead of some backwater hospital that made me feel like a criminal, even though I had done nothing wrong. But advocacy is one of the areas which is been cut which is a shame. It will only end up costing in the long term. There is no “magic pill”. And answer lies within the person. We have a certain amount of control over our own biochemistry. If you are “Bipolar”, and I do believe there is an over diagnosis of the condition, try not to be seduced by the “high”.

Dr. Terry Lynch also does a lot of great work in the area of mental health. He is a GP in Limerick who is now a Psychotherapist and has written a number of books.

Hi Ciaran,
Congrats on publishing your story. It will give comfort to others like you who will go through this experience.
However let me assure you as a (poorly paid!)health professional not strapped to the psychiatric disease agenda, that the points raised by Tommy here, albeit after a period of treatment, are increasingly gaining weight amongst those like him, realising that they do not have to abandon their emotional intelligence to the medicalising /institutionalising lobby., and can not only recover from their breakdown, but go on to discover a new more integrated drug free consciousness. To rather paraphrase Tommy T..’ Its tough having a head not attached to a body!’

Ciaran, I`m glad you had a positive experience in our dreadful mental health system ! it’s a pity this is not the experience many service users report after exiting these dreadful places !!! We now have a ill for every pill where Recovery is never mentioned and we are led to believe we will need to be maintained by these drugs for the rest of our lives !! Pills are not the only solution to life’s problems !!! I wish you well on your road to recovery .xx

Well done Ciaran for such an honest, insightful article. The stigma surrounding mental health issues is shameful and won’t change until people openly discuss their experiences.

Wish you all the best in the future.

Great inner strength to be able to recount your experience. It may be the ray of light that will motivate someone suffering in silence to seek help.
Maith an fear.

Great piece buddy :) your a legend

while the writers recovery and wellbeing are to be commended there is a dangerous message in the article that medication and recovery are synonomous. The article seems only to strengthen the argument that only medication-based treatments are being offered to those in care. While the man’s wellbeing is indeed great, the ideological implications of the article are anything but

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