Breaking down the stigma of mental illness

Mon, 06 Oct, 2025 - 06:44

According to Mental Health Ireland, one in four people will experience mental health difficulties in their lifetime. Anxiety and depression are the most common, but they are only part of the picture.

Eating disorders, trauma, addiction, borderline personality disorder, suicidality, and many more affect thousands of lives across the country.

Invisible Illness

Mental illness is often invisible to the eye, but no less real than a broken bone or a chronic condition. The racing thoughts of anxiety can feel paralysing. The heavy hopelessness of depression can make daily life unbearable.

For trauma survivors, a single reminder (a sound, a smell, a glance) can send them spiralling into panic.

From the outside, these struggles can look like someone is just being dramatic, irrational, or too sensitive. This is absolutely not true, and where stigma is born. Stigma silences people. It makes them hide their pain and increases shame. Shame says there’s something fundamentally wrong with you, resulting in further loneliness and isolation, and increasing suffering.

The antidote to this is breaking the stigma and having real conversations, whether with a friend or mental health professional.

Irish Context

In Ireland, we’ve inherited a culture of stoicism: the ‘it is what it is’ mindset. A belief complaining is a sign of weakness, or asking for help is a burden. And while that’s gradually changing and more real conversations are happening, old habits still remain.

Certain groups in Ireland face particular challenges: ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, the elderly, neurodivergent individuals, people with disabilities, and those living in poverty. These groups carry additional burdens of prejudice, isolation, or unmet needs. They are more vulnerable not because they are weaker, but because the odds are stacked against them.

A Social Issue

While sometimes mental illness is the result of individual circumstances, it’s helpful to reflect on a societal level what contributes to this.

For example, until people have their basic needs met (food, shelter, safety, financial security) wellbeing will always be fragile. You can practice mindfulness every day, but if you don’t know how you’ll pay the rent or put food on the table, stress lingers in the background.

Beyond material needs, we are inherently social creatures and need human connection. Yet communities are fading. Both in rural Ireland and in our cities, we’re losing the built-in connections of parish, neighbourhood, or extended family.

A Normal Reaction to an Abnormal World

Mental health struggles are often normal reactions to abnormal or overwhelming situations, and given the current state of the world, it is not surprising so many are suffering. For example, the cost-of-living and housing crisis’, rising isolation, the breakdown of community life, the climate crisis, and the constant drip-feed of distressing news, global conflicts and human suffering to our phones.

Perhaps, the real miracle is that more of us are not in crisis.

Hope and Change

We all know the basics of what we need for mental wellness: exercise, hobbies, friends, sleep, and reduced screen time. These really matter and make a huge difference, but when struggles run deep (trauma, eating disorders, severe anxiety) self-care alone isn’t enough, and that’s where specialist support matters. Safe spaces where people can be honest without judgement and make sense of what’s going on for them, are so important. Talking to a mental health professional can be a life-saver.

Real change requires more than band-aid solutions. It also requires systemic change: better access to mental health services, mental health education in schools, more community spaces, more affordable housing, addressing the cost-of living crisis, and a society that values care as much as productivity.

Yet, there is hope. Awareness is increasing, and younger generations are speaking more openly about mental health. Campaigns by Pieta House, Aware, Jigsaw, and SpunOut are breaking down walls of silence. Across the country, men’s sheds, women’s groups, and grassroots organisations are quietly fostering connection and belonging.

What We Can Do

When you’re in the depths of a mental health crisis it can seem hopeless, as if there’s no way out, yet change is possible. Reaching out, whether to a GP, a therapist, or a trusted friend, is the first step.

It might take time. It might even feel worse before it feels better. But there is a way forward, and it does get better.

To be human is to struggle, but it is also to experience joy. Everyone deserves to experience both. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘my struggles are too much for me to carry on my own’.

Breaking the stigma starts with each of us. It means being honest, being vulnerable, being willing to listen. When someone tells you they’re struggling, resist the urge to judge or to fix. Just listen.

Because you never know what’s going on inside someone else’s head.

Most of us are simply trying our best. And really, there’s not much more any of us can do than that.

Mirin Mooney is a trauma-informed neurodivergent-affirmative psychotherapist. For more info visit www.wildheart-wellness.com
If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out for the support you need:
Aware (depression) - www.aware.ie | Helpline: 1800 80 48 48
Samaritans (crisis) - www.samaritans.org | Helpline: 116 123
Pieta House (suicide & self-harm) - www.pieta.ie | Helpline: 1800 247 247
BodyWhys (eating disorders) - www.bodywhys.ie | Helpine: 012 107 906
Jigsaw (young people) - www.jigsaw.ie
MyMind (low-cost counselling) - www.mymind.org
HSE information - www.yourmentalhealth.ie