Here in the Please Talk blog section, we hand over to you; hear from students, who, like many of us, have first hand experience of going through a hard time, reaching out for help and starting their conversation about mental health. If you wish to become a contributor, contact [email protected]
I think the hardest thing to come to terms with when you suffer from a mental illness, is the fact that it is okay not to be okay. It has taken me years to properly come to terms with that, and even still, when my mood stoops, I often forget about it. As it is ... + read more
I am so unbelievably happy that these days, World Mental Health Day exists. Each year I can see more people opening up about their mental health struggles, something most people would have never done not that long ago. I’m twenty years old and throughout primary and secondary school, I heard next to nothing about mental ... + read more
To most, college signals exciting opportunities however, to some the thought of being away from home and moving to a new place where they might not know anyone is daunting especially if you are like me and suffer from anxiety. I started my degree in DCU in September 2016 a nervous wreck some might say! I knew ... + read more
Personally, I was terrified about leaving secondary school and starting college. I was scared of change. I liked my life the way it was and I was happy enough for it to stay the same. Looking back now, I wish I hadn’t have been so scared about it all because I am so happy with myself ... + read more
That assignment that was ages away is suddenly due tomorrow, now there are at least 4 more that are due next week; on top of me trying to work every spare minute so I can to cover my bills. Who ever said college life was great must have been lying! I am so stressed right ... + read more
Are you aware of the supports available on campus? While college is mainly about academic studies, it also caters for your holistic development as a person. Colleges offer a range of social supports and services which can help you as you progress through your course. These social supports include; Student Union Services Student Counselling Student ... + read more
When I was 12 I lost a family member to suicide. I remember a little bit after we found out I was sitting on my dads bed with him, he was crying unconsolably his head in his hands. I was just really confused. I genuinely didn’t have a clue what was going on. In April ... + read more
I’m Nicola and first experienced mental health difficulties in my mid-twenties after an incident of self-harming. Today I use the scar as a daily reminder to be self-compassionate. Believe me I wasn’t always as grounded! From that first incident until my first hospital admission over twenty years later I survived outside the system without knowing ... + read more
Hi my name is Kiera, I am an ordinary, outgoing girl. I laugh uncontrollably, I have a great sense of humour, I like meeting up with my friends and talking about boys, I have an amazing family, amazing friends and a job I love. I’m doing Social Care in college. I have my own car ... + read more
My name is Shannon, I’m 21 and a second year student here in A.I.T. I never thought I’d end up in hospital due to having a mental illness. It wasn’t somewhere I thought I would end up, but at least by going into hospital I could begin my recovery. This was all down to me ... + read more
An outgoing personality, enthusiastic, open minded with a strong focus on what has to be done. In general, positive, open and comfortable in most situations. I have many interests (some would suggest to many) they range from scuba diving, hiking, swimming, fishing, sailing, kayaking, and photography. Other interests include my dogs, chess, and music. I have ... + read more
My name is Emmet, I am a third year student in A.I.T. I was diagnosed with depression in 2009. How did I know I had depression? I was in college in Dublin at the time and was finding it really difficult to adjust to life in college. It was all so overwhelming compared to school ... + read more
Anxiety is a very misunderstood illness, some people assume that you just worry too much and have little sympathy for the people going through it but I can assure you it’s a very frightening illness. At the height of my anxiety age 19 I felt my identity was stripped from me, I was no longer ... + read more
My name is Joanne and I have Bipolar Affective Disorder. I was 18 and in college in Maynooth when in the first week of college I was not acting myself. I was not able to sleep at all for a whole week and I was staying in digs in Maynooth. My best friend who was ... + read more
My name is Oisín, I am studying at AIT and a few years ago I was diagnosed with depression. Depression is a very incapacitating and damaging illness, but over the years I have learned different methods and developed different strategies to help make it much more bearable and manageable. I have dealt with depression for ... + read more
When you’re feeling down, chances are the last thing you want to do is get up and do something. You might just want to stay in bed, go to sleep or stay at home on your own. While all of these things are very tempting and easy to do, they will hardly ever make you ... + read more
I wrote about SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, because I noticed that I was starting to recognise some of the symptoms in myself. I hope this piece might help to inform anyone else who’s feeling that way, or maybe you could help a friend if you think they might be going through this. It’s easy to ... + read more
Real strength comes; from withstanding the urge to close your eyes and block out the world. “We need to talk”, these are words that can make your heart drop, you feel the blood pool in your ears, you already know what’s going to be said, you need to hear these words. You need to talk, but you brush ... + read more
These days, I don’t care who knows that I suffer with depression and anxiety, but even now I still find it hard to talk about how it affects me and what exactly I go through. But I’m not talking about that today. Today I’m going to tell you how my crappy situation turned into, well ... + read more
So… I’ve developed this habit of putting aside my sarcastic and self deprecating nature for what tends to be one status a year on my experience with mental health. I’ve decided to do this one a random number of months early because today is exactly one month since I started doing something that I always ... + read more
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