About 15 months ago, I started playing with the idea of developing a television documentary that’s fundamental objective was to explore the intrinsic link between our bodies and our minds. The secondary, yet equally important aim was to put the subject of mental health on a primetime television platform in an inspiring, honest and empowering way.
If I am being honest, I had imagined it would have been an easier project to get the cogs moving on but the reality was a lot of decision makers in the industry were not willing to engage with the subject quite yet due to the sensitivity, complexity and stigma still surrounding it. Duty of care is at the core of most decisions when it comes to such projects, and I totally agree with this frame of thought, but sometimes we have to follow our gut and believe in a vision.
I found it difficult to get the funding in place to create such a project, but ultimately RTÉ2 made the decision to invest in my idea, even though it was a risk, as I was asking them to believe in what we were aiming to do without any real guarantee of the outcome.
Our aim was to work with a group of individuals with varying degrees of primary care mental health issues over the course of six months to train them to compete in a 70.3 Ironman Triathlon, but more importantly to develop their coping strategies and mental fitness with the hope that it would allow them deal much more effectively with their minds and emotional wellbeing.
We put in place some incredible people to allow us to do this. People who invested months and months of their time and passion into a project, for no other reason than they wanted to try to make a difference, and also for no return except the knowledge that are making a difference. Over the course of six months, I witnessed a group of people transform, not just physically but more importantly mentally.
I have an unwavering belief that people who live with a mental illness have an inner strength and resilience that once found and released, can allow them overcome any challenge. This belief is so engrained in me that I can’t be argued with on the matter. In a society where in the past, we have been bombarded with the lazy stereotypical perception that those with a mental health illness are weak, I can say something for sure, I don’t know many people who would have had the strength to go on the journey I watched these four people go on over the last six months.
Conor Cusack often calls individuals such as these “warriors of the light” and I cannot think of a more apt description for this group of people. They have taken a stand to try and reach out to others that may be still lost in the dark, to remove some of the bricks in a slowly eroding wall of stigma, and for that, the respect I have for them all will never be given justice by a few words on a page.
This documentary started out in the hope of better understanding and exploring the link between physical and mental health but it grew into something a whole lot bigger. As the months moved on, it became less and less about the race, and more and more about the journey. The destination, although important, was just an added bonus.
One of the most glaringly evident aspects of the process in terms of what benefited these individuals the most became clear very quickly. Yes, the counselling, therapy, CBT, mindfulness, exercise, nutrition etc. all had a positive impact. But it was in fact the social, peer to peer support that seemed to offer this group the most solace and comfort. The pure fact that we could ring, text or mail each other, or meet up and speak openly about how we were feeling without fear of judgement cannot be quantified.
We had a WhatsApp group where we openly engaged in personal, raw and honest conversation and although I can’t speak on behalf of everyone, the level of support this gave was gargantuan. This helped highlight the fact that the stigma that still surrounds mental health illness in this country must be destroyed once and for all.
If people can openly have dialogue around their mental health and emotional wellbeing with friends, family and even colleagues, we can create a culture and environment where help seeking behaviour becomes normalised and promoted, much in the same way that if you hurt your knee, your friends would suggest you go to a doctor or physio.
Ironmind is a documentary where a collective passion for positive change by a group of individuals aims to highlight that resilience, once located and cultivated, can allow us all do great things.
Ironmind will be aired on RTÉ2 on Sunday 22nd November at 9.30pm and the second instalment will be the following week at the same time.
© Image provided by Patrick Fitzpatrick
Support Our Campaign
We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
