Alice Kiernan and Megan Daly produced a video called Break the Stigma this week, and its taken Twitter by storm. We loved it – the girls have handled the issue sensitively and with respect, and given people the opportunity to acknowledge that although mental health can be hard to talk about, and sometimes ‘awkward’, we have to always be open to conversation. It could save a life. Alice and Megan told me a little about why they decided to make the video.
The idea behind our video was simple – we wanted to start a discussion on suicide in Ireland and get people talking on an issue that is quite often seen as a very taboo topic. We put out a call to action on Instagram and Twitter asking people to tell us how they felt mental health was discussed in Ireland – and the reaction was incredible.
When people saw we were making a mental health video, they were more than willing to take part. People from all over Ireland made their way to our filming location and discussed on camera the stigma surrounding mental health in Ireland – a difficult task for many.
We want people to no longer be afraid of the word suicide. They held the word in their hands, they said the word out loud, and they discussed the topic in detail. Something that shocked us was how open these people were willing to be – they didn’t shy away from telling their stories of family members, friends and even personal experiences.
To the wonderful people who took part in this video; thank you. Thank you for breaking this stigma so bravely. Thank you for starting this discussion
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