We travelled 900km across Ireland in one day to speak to people about mental health – here’s what we learned

*Spoiler alert: Stigma is still going strong – read on to find out why*

Ahead of running a fundraising campaign to raise €1m for mental health over the May Bank Holiday Weekend, myself, three friends and a Toyota Corolla decided to travel the country stopping in shops, towns, parks and landmarks to discover what people in different walks of life in Ireland think about mental health. We asked: As a society, what are our experiences, our opinions and our aspirations? What does mental health mean to us and would we like anything to change? Here’s what we found:

Stigma

Almost immediately, we found that people are apprehensive to speak about mental health. That’s no surprise. Most people who speak about the social climate of mental health have mentioned stigma in some way but what was interesting was why.

People are afraid to be wrong

In cases people just weren’t comfortable with a camera but generally we found people didn’t want to say the wrong thing. This was particularly evident amongst people of our parents’ generation (50’s & 60’s) How did we know this? Well we opened by asking people would they appear in the short film we were making to document Irish opinions on mental health. We were met in most cases with an “oh jesus, no I wouldn’t know about that sort of thing now, I’m no expert” which quickly made discussion difficult. But when the threat of the camera was put away we were in almost every case offered a conciliatory opinion which was exactly what we were looking for. People told us how they were unsure about what mental health was, or how the system of services worked or even shared an anecdote about someone they knew and expressed concern that people needed support. That says a lot in itself.

Some of the things that were expressed:

• People don’t feel comfortable discussing mental health as a political or social concept
• Mental health is seen as a problem to be dealt with rather than a reality to be lived with
• Mental health is seen as complicated and a heavy topic of conversation
• Only a knowledgeable or studied person should speak on mental health
• People don’t like being filmed by strangers (fair enough)

Would you agree with those points? Let us know on twitter

The route map beginning in Sligo at 6am

Young people are more forthcoming with their opinions

We approached young people in a café in Kilcullen in Carlow, UCC in Cork and Eyre Square in Galway and a felt difference. Firstly there was less panic in the response when we said we wanted to ask about mental health, secondly there was less reluctance to talk to the camera and by doing so have their opinions heard wider than the immediate conversation but thirdly, and most important, their opinions were free flowing. These weren’t prodigy psychotherapists or budding neurologists of any degree. They were teenagers enjoying a coffee with friends in a small café, they were young people dressed up and enjoying a Comicon, they were locals enjoying a can and having a smoke in the park on a sunny day. Despite their lack of relevant academic qualifications they could tell us unashamedly that they think the situation regarding mental health is getting worse (Carlow), that they have friends and family members who have had difficulties with mental health if they haven’t experience that themselves (UCC), that they see mental health as everything from an illness to a vice to a fundamental part of who we are (All). My question is, who’s asking these people what they think?

Down at the Carlow Regional Youth Service in the funky bike yard

We speak more when we have space to relax and more open environments

Obviously this is coloured by our role as total strangers and a friend to friend conversation could be more comfortable at home in a private environment but on the whole we found it easier to engage and approach people in larger urban environments in spaces where people are already gathered such as parks and universities than streets. That tells us that urban planning in Ireland may need to think about lending itself to public spaces that aren’t pumping out tunes if we want these conversations to happen. If, like me, you grew up in a place where the town centre is a commercial throughway and a road then it’s less likely you’ll talk to new people anywhere except where drink is served or concealed in brown bags. The challenge goes out to you town and city councils of Ireland. Get us talking again!

People equated mental health with physical health

That’s feckin great news if you go by the amount of gyms that have opened around my neighbourhood. It also has a lot of promise in that people understand mental health as something that can be injured, practised or improved. If people think they can actively work on their mental health then we could structure mental health in the same way we look at physical health. When are the mental health flyfits opening? Where are the personal trainers, the mental fitness Instagram profiles, the initiatives that restructure public space towards health (think cycle to work, tobacco warning labels etc.)?

People did not think that the general public would know where to turn to if they needed to avail of mental health services.

As I understand it, fear of not having enough support for ourselves holds us back from helping others with their mental health. So knowledge of services is equally important for anyone who happens to be a sibling, parent, guardian or member of a community as it is for a person experiencing difficulty with their mental health. There are mental health services in Ireland, which it could be argued are not properly funded, so if we want to make a difference, improving awareness of services and community outreach has to be a core part of the plan.

The way we’re approaching things now won’t achieve anything

To my mind saying nothing is the wrong thing. If people are afraid to share an individual opinion for fear of getting it wrong then how can we expect systematic or legislative change that is the product of a mosaic of opinions? If people in rural areas don’t speak openly about mental health then how can services reach out on the theoretical basis that they might be needed? If students and young people are the ones speaking out for these issues then why are they not better represented in the Dáil? (young people make up 1/3 of the population yet only 6 of 158 TDs are under 30)

If we have to go gallivanting around the country bugging people with a small SLR camera and a volunteer crew to hear this then something is clearly not right with the way we engage with people’s opinions on mental health. If people are so embarrassed about saying the wrong thing that they would prefer to say nothing at all despite having close experience of a mental health illness in their community then the concept of what mental health is still has to change.

This is not a definitive guide to Irish mental health by any stretch. It’s a couple of people, in one car over one day. If you think we’re wrong or something’s missing- prove it! Come talk to us on twitter @Oneforireland

PS: Shout out to our Amr Dawood who drove the whole route powered by curry, blue spark and the understanding that this might do some good. Also to Tom and Rachel who helped to approach strangers across the country to ask them about what still is an awkward topic.