Kevin “Boxer” Moran described a suicide attempt after years of suppressing emotions. He said only close family and friends knew about his distress, and he carried it through his political career. He recalled telling his teenage sons after a health crisis, describing the drive to Dublin as the most daunting moment. He emphasized stigma around mental health problems and said it can stop people from moving forward. He urged people in distress to talk first, insisting there is help and a solution. Ireland’s suicide rate has fallen, but about 500 people still die by suicide annually. A new ten-year strategy aims to reduce the annual toll to 7 per 100,000 by 2035, including actions to improve mental health supports and encourage counselling, especially for men.
"“I bottled it within myself for years and years and the only people that knew were my wife, my parents, my mother-in -law, father, my best friend. I carried that right through my career as I entered national politics,” he said."
"“The most daunting thing I had to do that evening, coming up the motorway, with my two sons was I had to tell them their father nearly committed suicide and explain to them on the way to Dublin what had happened,” he said."
"He spoke of the stigma of having mental health problems and said “it affects people like me and hundreds of people up and down the country - a feeling that prevents them from going forward”. He called on those in distress to talk to others .“I always say there is help and always a solution. It is not always easy but you have to talk first.”"
"The new ten-year strategy promised a set of actions to aim to reduce the annual tragic toll to 7 per 100,000 by 2035, with 130 fewer lives lost every year to suicide. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “We know that men are at higher risk of suicide, and I particularly want to urge any man who might benefit from counselling to avail of it. Even one suicide is one too many.”"
#suicide-prevention #mental-health-stigma #counselling-and-support #public-health-strategy #mens-mental-health
Read at Irish Independent
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