Would you discuss your mental health with the same ease as you might discuss your physical health?  My guess is that a considerable number of people in Ireland would answer 'no - definitely not' to this question. 

To put this situation in context the best analysis of our attitudes to people with mental health difficulties is expressed by a woman who wrote about her personal experience.  That woman was Hannah Greally.  Her first book was called Bird's Nest Soup and describes the horrendous situation in which she found herself for the best part of twenty years.  Hannah was diagnosed as 'Mentally well, but unclaimed' which illustrates the collective attitude of Irish society around seventy years ago.

Hannah anticipated she was going for a short rest to the Big House, St. Loman's psychiatric hospital in Mullingar.  As it became clear to her that none of her relatives surviving after her mother's unexpected death had any intention of applying for her release she realised there was no way out for her as an unclaimed patient. She knew herself to be unwanted, fully conscious of her position and acutely observant of her surroundings, in an atmosphere calculated to bring about steady degradation of her personality. She survived this desperate situation and left us her remarkable and moving story.

Thankfully mental health has improved in many ways in the intervening years.  However, there is still a legacy of stigma in our collective psyche which needs to be purged if we are to support mental health in our society.  This is not entirely up to the professionals involved although they do have a significant part to play.  We each can do our part.  'How can we?' you may ask.

What we each can do is to uncover our personal bias and attitude to mental health.  Reading Hanna Greally's book is a great way to do this.  Maybe suggest the book to your book club if you are in one?  As we read her personal story we are likely to be touched by a range of thoughts and feelings.  One way would be to note your personal thoughts, reactions and feelings as you read.  Then choose someone with whom you can discuss what you discovered.  This is not an exercise in changing your mind or attitude.  It is simply about exposing what lurks latent in your psyche on the issue of mental health and illness.  When this is brought into the clear light of day it is then possible to question your attitudes and see if they are reasonable. 

Contact me if you need to.  I welcome hearing from you at 353-86-8545407 or by e-mail in confidence to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it