Voice

Ethna Quirke

September and November are months of celebration in our house. Both my sons were born in November and my daughter is a sunny September girl. But they are months of sadness too. Three years ago, I had my first miscarriage in my 13th week

My story of a visit to the college GP – Irish students deserve better mental health care

A Lust For Life Reader

Sitting outside my GP’s office I feel I am about to die. My heart is beating uncontrollably, my palms are sweating and the thoughts that circle my head are enough to drain my last morsel of energy

Healing anorexia and brushing out what’s under the carpet

Dara Maguire

I am 28 this year and have battled an eating disorder for the latter part of my teenage years and throughout my college life. Anorexia almost took my life away but thankfully I have reclaimed what is mine

Depression – An open letter to someone struggling

Jannah Walshe

Depression. That word we throw around so easily nowadays. That word we use to describe anything from a bad day to an overwhelming inability to live life. But as anyone with depression knows, it is much more than any one word

Overcoming anxiety to accomplish my first 5k run with A Lust for Life

Claire Nora Twomey

I woke to the sound of my alarm, snoozed it about 3 times and struggled to get out of bed which meant I was already running behind schedule for the Vhi A Lust For Life run which took place in Phoenix Park recently

Looking after my mental health after losing my Mother

Nicola Hynds

Battling mental health problems since childhood has never been an easy task. Living with Schizophrenia has become something I have spent my life accepting and adjusting to. From the age of four I have endlessly fought with demons

Mental fitness and the battle of becoming a positive me

Irene Heavey

Make no mistake; my use of the term “Mental fitness” does not derive from a lack of comfort of the term mental health. Coming from a GAA background my logic is simple, mental fitness implies that our state of mentality must be worked on

The loss of my sister – A journey of grief and beyond

Lorraine Carey

My 33 year old sister died last August, shattering my life as I knew it. She’d been battling alcoholism and depression for years. She was on a lot of medication (which to me, just exacerbated her struggles) self-harmed

Running is my therapy

Teresa McCarthy

On Saturday, I ran the Vhi A Lust for Life 5k in the Phoenix Park. I was honoured to be interviewed by Karl Fitzgerald, a leader of the A Lust for Life – Runners’ Page, and was asked about why I run, and why I was taking part

How a support group helped save my life

Ellen Downey

I am 28 years old. I have a brilliant family. Supportive friends. An amazing fiancé. A permanent job in what I have always wanted to be since I was a little girl. I have what people would say, a fantastic life

‘Talking about your mental health is attention seeking!’ and other untruths

Kim Horkan

I want to write my story because recently I’ve encountered the attitude that talking about your mental health is attention seeking. This is absolutely not true

How I became friends with my mind again – from OCD to meditation

Linda Culleton

Your mind can be your best friend or worst enemy. To me I had a normal life, working late hours as an accountant overwhelmed by stress

Asperger Syndrome – Invisible challenges and hidden gifts

Paula Nash

Asperger Syndrome can be a complex condition with no two people the same, although many people experience similarities in the difficulties they face

My journey of awakening to know that it’s okay not to feel okay, and to ask for...

Vincent Byrne

In April 2014 I enrolled for the first three days of a fourteen day cycle, with Cycle Against Suicide. I had a general empathy with the focus of the cycle

Revelation on the mountain – healed by the beauty of nature

Imelda Conway-Duffy

On one of those balmy days in April, 2015, I received a message. "You free for a short walk?" my friend, Mag had texted. Swift and sure-footed as a mountain goat, she sped

WRAP me up – Keep me safe

A Lust For Life Reader

Before I had a Crisis Plan™, I was detained (sectioned) because I couldn’t communicate properly with health staff while at crisis point. When I’m well, I am soft spoken and articulate. When unwell due to an episode of mental health illness

No hair, do care: a personal view on hair loss during breast cancer treatment

Aoife Moores

Tackling Breast Cancer treatment, the approach by which we face it is so very individual. When described, many use the ‘fight’ word which is true in many ways

‘See you in two minutes, Ma!’ A mother writes her story of losing her son to suicide

Linda Allen

‘See you in two minutes, Ma!’ The words echoed in the hallway as the front door closed and re-opened in a burst followed by a trundling of long legs up the stairs and down again as quickly

Beautiful letter from a Mum who has battled depression to her 1 year old son

Michelle Ryan

Dear Joshua, a year ago, you decided to enter into this world. You weren't due until the end of March, but you arrived early for a reason. You knew that I was struggling

Gambling with life

John-Ross Crangle

Standing on the edge of a bridge wondering where your life is heading, all you can see are the negatives. You talk to yourself, you put yourself down, a few seconds of pain will end a few years of complete and utter destruction of your mind

Coping with panic attacks after being raped – my experience

A Lust For Life Reader

Trigger Warning. If you have been affected by sexual violence please phone the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre National 24-Hour Helpline 1800 77 8888 or contact Rape Crises Network Ireland

How I changed the cycle of chronic pain and created The Ass Movement

Michael Quigley

March 2013, it was a typical weekend where I went out and got absolutely black out drunk. This is something I had done from the age of 17 nearly every single weekend until then (I was 26 years old in 2013)

My Jealousy: A Battle with Perfectionism

Michelle O’Connor

Grainne is a career woman who is well respected and known in her field. She is perceived to be irreplaceable in her job and does it with ease, positivity and everyone likes her. Shes is in a loving relationship and recently got approved for her mortgage

A false sense of insecurity – Learning to cope with anxiety

Darren

There is a powerful line in the film Good Will Hunting when Robin Williams tells Matt Damon 'you can do anything you want in this world, you are bound by nothing'

Growing Up With Addiction in the Home

A Lust For Life Reader

As far back as I can remember my mother was an alcoholic. I would wait at school for her to collect me, filled with dread of what would greet me when I hopped in the car. She would often pick me up from school drunk

Body image: The protein kids

Ciaran Casey

On men lifting weights: “Very strange generation gap, it’s just a fashion, it’s a fad.” – Economist David McWilliams in the Irishman Abroad Podcast November 2015

Men, look after your mental health – speak up and take action today

Mark Smith

This is something we hear about all the time when it comes to men; they keep their problems to themselves and don’t speak up and seek help because it might affect their macho image

Depression, a story of acceptance

Lauren Moriarty

I choked the first time I said it aloud. It was the beginning of the Christmas holidays and I was relieved to have a two week break from Leaving Certificate stress. I was in my bedroom with the girl I had been friends with since Junior Infants

Running – The hub in the centre of my life

Frank Greally

I have come to believe running is as much a spiritual experience as a physical one, and the older I get the more convinced I become of the importance of this grain of truth

Dig deep, reach out and exercise your way through the tough times

A Lust For Life Reader

I was always a happy guy, glass half full, never half empty. Things happened to other people, not to me and I always could take care of it - whatever it happened to be

Your body loves you – The other side of an eating disorder

Sorcha Killian

Few months ago I started college and that incurred understandable anxiety as I am in a new place with new people. I noticed my anorexia began to flare up

No longer running away

Meredith Heneghan

I used to be a runner. I used to write this cool running blog; I was one of the most driven, ambitious people you were likely to meet. I had a vision of a new career, making a fresh start as a personal trainer

Stopping my panic attacks before they hit

James Elford

I was sitting on the bus with my family watching the world go by when everything would suddenly get too much. Loud noises became deafening. Bright lights became blinding

A young Mum’s fight against a breast cancer diagnosis – navigating the darkness to live amongst the...

Aoife Moores

Two months ago, I was diagnosed with stage 2, Her2 positive Breast Cancer. Clearly they got that wrong

Finding your soul: An inner journey towards positive mental health

A Lust For Life Reader

Thanks to the A Lust for Life reader who emailed us in their story. “I wanted to share my story with A Lust for Life readers with the hope that it could support other people out there who might be going through a tough time like I did.”

The story behind why I don’t have any more children

Doreen Kelly

Admitting infertility to yourself is probably a time in your life where you see yourself at your most raw. I am so lucky to have a little boy who fills my life but he is my only child, not through choice

Living with schizophrenia

A Lust For Life Reader

I have suffered from schizophrenia since I was 26 years old. I had my first psychotic episode then. I can only describe it as a terrifying experience

Keeping anxiety a secret makes it thrive

Tim Collins

When I had my first major anxiety attack it took me completely by surprise. Yes, I’d felt nervous in the past but really only natural nerves, the kind you get before a big presentation or job interview

Type two bipolar disorder and me

Charlene Maloney

My name is Charlene. I am a stay at home Mum to three boys. I am originally from Liverpool and am a huge fan of Liverpool Football Club. I have Type 2 Bipolar Disorder

Going against what and who you are is torture

Sorcha Killian

‘I am not what I am.’ These words come from Othello, a play I studied for my leaving cert. They are birthed from the most malignant villain in literature

‘I’m a single Dad living with anxiety’

James Elford

Understanding depression, anxiety or any of that bad stuff is like understanding any chronic illness

A reboot of the mind

Mark McConville

As this story unfolds, my mind seems cleaner. It's not working overtime and it's not demanding me to think hazardous thoughts

Secret Diary of an Agoraphobic

Wayne Power

I was just like any typical 21 year old when I had my first panic attack. I was in the process of moving from Waterford to Dublin

Gambling addiction – from the other side

A Lust For Life Reader

Thanks to the writer of this personal story for emailing it in to A Lust for Life. She felt it important to express from her side how difficult she found it, and still finds it

The Bottom Of The Glass: Alcohol and Mental Health

Roisin Dwyer

Irish adults binge drink more than their counterparts in any other European country

Time (and other infuriating societal attitudes to infertility)…The Great Healer!

A Lust For Life Reader

A must read blog from A Lust For Life reader illustrating the emotional, mental and physical distress of their journey through infertility and it’s various treatments

Dreaming above 2000m

John Buckley

A mist is surrounding my eyes as water begins to fall. Gasping for breath as my mind tries to figure out that final piece…

My steps to recovery and how to avoid relapse from an eating disorder

A Lust For Life Reader

For the past six years of my life I have been living with an eating disorder which also caused depression and anxiety

Road to recovery from gambling addiction

Niall McNamee

Read this Offaly forward’s deeply personal story of the desperate power of gambling addiction and also some advice on how to pull yourself out of it

How did we get here? The Loss of a Child to SUDC And Subsequent Parenthood

Stephanie O’Loughlin

This is a powerful personal story written by Stephanie O’Loughlin on how she coped with the loss of her son Patrick to SUDC – Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood

Healing from sexual abuse

A Lust For Life Reader

One of our readers at A Lust For Life sent in this personal post on her recovery methods for her mental health issues

From Struggling with ADHD to Turning it into My Greatest Gift

Connor Keppel

Get to better understand ADHD by a man who uses it to give him an edge

Art journaling

Nikki Roberts

People have kept art journals for centuries. We have all heard of the adage, ‘an image speaks a thousand words’, so by selecting an image, cutting and pasting it into one’s journal can become the trigger to recognise

For A Minute There I Lost Myself… Drowning in Motherhood

Ruth O’Mahony

If you find yourself overwhelmed and struggling with pre or post-natal anxieties – check in with your support people

“All we can do now is pray” – How my hero Dad gave me hope during the...

Clodagh Leonard

When the government announced a date for the marriage referendum you could feel a collective inhalation as the LGBT community steeled itself for the onslaught

Severe Anxiety Disorder and Tips for Coping day-to-day

A Lust For Life Reader

A powerful story by one of our readers. Thank you for sharing your story and tips Daniel

Anxiety Resources that have worked for me

A Lust For Life Reader

A fantastic and very thorough piece that lists some useful resources and treatments to explore on your journey with anxiety

Understanding Self Harm

A Lust For Life Reader

Thank you so much to A Lust For Life reader for this contribution on self-harm and depression

My Sister’s Keeper – Living with a Sibling with Mental Illness

A Lust For Life Reader

With effective long-term clinical management of her illness, nearly 20 years after her overdose my sister is doing well

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