Advertisement

Readers like you keep news free for everyone.

More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.

Support us today
Not now
Thursday 5 October 2023 Dublin: 14°C

Latest

All time
I found out I was having a miscarriage this week. My husband wasn't allowed into the hospital.
In spite of all the calls for hospitals to ease their Covid measures it was impossible to get a clear answer on whether my partner would be allowed in, our contributor writes.
'I hung up for the last time': How I lost my partner to conspiracy theories
Our reader documents her relationship with a partner who became an advocate of online conspiracy theories.
Opinion: Women have lived in fear of walking alone in the dark for too long - we've had enough
Our reader shares two terrifying experiences walking home in Dublin and London and asks if we are doing enough to free women from this fear.
Opinion: 'I tried to take my own life more than once and felt the compassion of staff begin to fade'
On World Suicide Prevention Day our reader details her struggles and experience of the Irish mental health services.
The long wait for autism assessment: 'From cautiously optimistic to desperately worried'
‘Starting primary school was always going to be difficult but now I am concerned that it will be deeply traumatic and damaging.’
My food addiction: How group therapy helped me overcome years of bingeing and purging
The following account is written by a member of Addictive Eaters Anonymous, who shares her experience of sobriety from addictive eating.
'The scariest part was there was no remorse': One survivor on her experience of domestic abuse
Our reader has survived an abusive relationship and has advice for anyone else trapped in one.
Opinion: Examined in the toilet, protesting in a chair for a bed - my battle for comfort in hospital
Jess was given a makeshift bed behind a doorway when battling infection following a mastectomy.
'I’m tired of all the feel-good campaigns when there's no real debate around entry into mental health services'
A sibling writes about their brother’s experience of being suicidal and needing access to treatment.
'I'm not amoral, not stupid, and not promiscuous. I took every precaution. I still got pregnant'
“Am I selfish for taking control of my own fate rather than simply letting life happen to me? I do not see it that way.”
'I was nine weeks pregnant when I took an abortion pill - after staring at it for hours'
“I was in a very bad situation where continuing a pregnancy just wasn’t possible, health wise or financially.”
'The nurses asked how we planned to keep him cold. This wasn't something we were prepared for'
Things need to change in Ireland though; I don’t want any other people to have to go through what we did.
Candid recordings of female doctor from field hospital in East Ghouta
“As I’m talking, there are rockets falling on Ghouta.”
'We've fostered 15 children, in the beginning I thought we were going to save the world'
“The most rewarding thing about fostering is seeing the potential in children that was sometimes overlooked when they were younger.”
Broadband in rural Ireland: 'If I disconnect, I don't get paid - I fear for my job'
“I feel like the people of rural Ireland have been let down, with broken promise after broken promise.”
Sexual abuse: 'Did I consent? I was just a little girl, but yes, I let it happen'
This is the story of a woman who did speak up about her abuse. But she wasn’t believed.
#MeToo: 'I have been drugged twice by men I knew'
#MeToo was spawned by the Harvey Weinstein revelations and is where women are detailing incidences of sexual assault and harassment online.
'My doctor insisted I leave the job, and signed me off on stress leave'
We’re not entitled to be unhappy with how we are being treated in the workplace. You are seen as a malcontent, someone who doesn’t respect authority, or that you didn’t want to do the hard work.
'I am not ashamed of losing my home. But people's judgemental attitudes make it harder'
Believe me, no one deliberately sets out to rip apart the foundations of their home by simply not making mortgage repayments.
'We were even questioning the future of our marriage': One couple share their fertility story
A sense of isolation can be one effect of infertility – so seeking support is essential.
My abortion: 'I don't want to be eternally attached to someone I do not love'
I feel like a woman and for the first time I feel like a responsible adult who made a very painful decision for all the right reasons.
My boyfriend's gambling: 'I loved two people. One was a compulsive liar and emotionally unavailable'
My whole life used to be consumed by my ex boyfriend’s gambling addiction.
An Irish nurse: 'I began to hate my job. I questioned my career. There were days when I came home crying'
A former public sector nurse highlights the challenging working conditions she and her colleagues endured as they cared for patients.
'One of the most horrible experiences of my life': An Irish woman on travelling for an abortion
One reader tells us her story about having to travel to the UK for an abortion after her baby was diagnosed with a debilitating illness.
'He confirmed what I had known for hours - there was no heartbeat'
One reader tells us her story about having a miscarriage, to encourage others to talk about an issue which ends one in four pregnancies.
'My Jobseeker's Allowance was cut to €40 a week - I can’t afford to go to interviews'
I don’t want a free ride. I want the Department of Social Protection to assist me.
'I walked past people with signs about how I was a murderer': Getting an abortion as a teenager
One reader tells us her story about having to travel to the UK for an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy at 19.
There is no easy way to escape poverty as a single parent
A reader explains why education alone is not enough to gain financial security.
'As a child of an alcoholic, I am damaged'
A reader talks about their experiences in the wake of the establishment of a government Group on Alcohol Harm
Supporting my mam through depression: 'We never give up trying to make her feel loved'
An anonymous contributor writes about the complexities of helping a person who suffers from mental illness.
Leaving an abusive relationship: He knocked me into a wall when I dared to speak back
A year after leaving her violent partner, one woman is still learning how to cope.
'I fed myself through looking or smelling, but never eating. I'm not over anorexia; I'm living with it'
When I finally got it, I still didn’t think I deserved help. I checked into hospital still believing I was “too fat”, writes an anonymous contributor.
Call me a selfish criminal and a murderer if you want, but having an abortion was right for me
I made a decision to abort at seven weeks for many reasons, writes an anonymous contributor.
'My partner was lovely at first, but things changed after we moved in together'
At the beginning he was nice, making sure I got home safely and on time for curfew, but things changed, writes an anonymous contributor.
I chose to put my four children through private secondary school, here's why
There may be an air of ambition that one hopes will be contagious. If the friends all have high hopes, ours probably will too.
I love a drink but I don't want to end up like my dad: an alcoholic and alone
“Having struggled to deal with my father’s alcoholism my entire life, I wonder just how his ‘fondness for the drink’ has distorted my perception of alcohol.”
No opportunities for non-EU students: I fell in love with Ireland but will soon have to leave
The flooded market for HSE placements has become unsustainable, an American medical student studying here writes.
'I'll never forget the looks he gave me. I knew he wanted me dead'
A woman living in a women’s refuge in Tallaght tells her story and appeals to the government to prevent its closure.
'If I don’t have papers I won’t be able to study after the Leaving Cert'
An undocumented teenager says she doesn’t want handouts, just the chance to reach her full potential.
I spent five long years studying to be a vet and I'm up against JobBridge ads paying €50 a week
Veterinary Ireland has said it has written to the Department of Social Protection to express their concerns about JobBridge vet positions. Here, one graduate tells her story.