Deviating from from their regular weekly debates for one week only, last night saw the University Philosophical Society (the Phil) host a chamber discussion on the topic of mental health. With most of the speakers being students, it was a touching and grounding night for everyone present, with the atmosphere of relatability highly palpable.
The first speaker, Clodagh Prior, spoke about her dealings with anxiety, and how she came to acknowledging that it wasn’t just simply a problem that could be brushed off with a “Yeah, I’m fine” – something that we are all often inclined to do to with what we may think are minor worries or stresses. She made the interesting point of comparing our mental health to our physical health: if we had a broken arm we would immediately go to a doctor to get it treated, why not have the same approach when it comes to our own mental health? Or, more importantly, why do we feel like we cannot apply this way of thinking when it comes to our own mental well being? Or even moreso, why do we wait until it even becomes a problem before we address it?
Luke Fehily followed on from this way of thinking by stating that we live in a culture that constantly perpetuates self-judgment, the need to always justify our problems with an answer. However, our thoughts and feelings are not as simple as “2+2=4” and sometimes we are faced with difficulties such as depression that cannot be cured with the attitude of “what have you to be sad about?”. Comparisons are a cruel trick of the mind and can be detrimental in actually acknowledging that fact that we may need help from others, and that we don’t have to deal with our problems alone.
Joan Freeman, founder of Pieta House, gave herself as a prime example when stating the importance of acknowledging our own mental health saying that it wasn’t until her sister took her own life that her attitude towards mental health drastically changed. It was only until then that she decided to take action, saying that her mind frame of “coming from an Ireland full of secrets” needed to change and that more services need to be provided for people to talk about their mental health. Hannah Bloom Teskey, a volunteer from Niteline, reiterated this point when discussing her involvement with Niteline, a student-run call service that allows for young people to talk in a non judgmental and confidential environment.
Clodagh Treacy also spoke about her battle with anorexia, an eating disorder which over 200,000 people in Ireland suffer from and which has the highest mortality rate. This mental illness is highly glamorised in the media, where being thin is seen as a fashion trend. In an age in which it has become incredibly easy to derive one’s self worth from the impossible standards created by the media, it has never been more important for open and honest discussion about how toxic these pressures can be.
From last night’s deeply moving and humbling talk, it is evident that stigma around mental health, and the reluctance to address it, is something that needs to change. There needs to be more government services in place that allows for people to get help they need and deserve, whatever it may be. We have learned that by blanketing our feelings with the words “I’m fine” when there is so much more brewing beyond the surface is not the answer. By dealing with and being given a safe environment to talk about issues concerning mental health such as this chamber discussion, we are one step closer in ridding ourselves from the notion that it is a taboo subject matter, or that it isn’t a worthy enough subject matter. Everyone is human, everyone deserves to speak about and care for their mental health. “Ah sure, it’ll be grand” is no longer good enough.
