Blogger Louise Cooney has said Irish people, especially men, should be more open about their mental health.

She is an ambassador for the Pieta House charity, having lost her cousin Nicky to suicide two years ago.

Louise told Lunchtime Live this is a very personal role for her.

"My cousin, August 2019, died by suicide and we were heartbroken.

"It's something that affects you forever, it's just absolutely devastating.

"And anything I can do to try and raise awareness around metal health, and raise awareness on where you can go for help, that's just what I feel like I have a responsibility to do now with the platform that I have."

Louise recently moved back to Ireland from New York, and said Irish people need to talk more openly about mental health.

"I think we've come a long way and we are certainty becoming more open to it.

"When I was in New York, every second person was going to therapy and it's a part of conversation over there.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, people will tell you if they're on medication - here I just feel it's not as open.

"And I know a lot of people would be scared to go on medication, they're scared of the side effects because they don't know anyone who's gone on it.

"They'd be afraid to even ask for help in terms of going to counsellors, because there'd be scared of what people would think - especially men".

Asking for help

Louise said people, like her cousin Nicky, should be comfortable asking for help.

"He was a really happy - obviously [on the] surface level, a smile can hide a lot.

"He'd everything going for him, a great family, but I suppose mental health is just something that we're still coming to terms with in this country.

"Sometimes it's hard to ask for help, and it's hard to even recognise those signs in yourself that you really need help.

"And it's hard to spot them in the people closest to you as well - so I suppose just knowing where you can go and what you can do.

"I would hate to see any other family go through what we've gone through, it's just absolutely heartbreaking".

'Better to say something'

She said she was happy to help the charity, as she knew more people would need their services.

"I just knew how much something like this, the pandemic, would have an effect on so many people losing their jobs and just the change of lifestyle and change of plans.

"And I knew a lot of people were going to be struggling and needing help - even the loneliness that we've all felt at certain stages.

"It was always something that I cared about, but having experienced this has just brought it to a whole new level."

And Louise believes stigma can also play a big part: "It's so hard, even now, to talk about... but not talking about it doesn't help anyone either.

"And I think we need to, in a way, change our approach to how we talk about it - there shouldn't be this stigma around it.

"It's better to say something than to say nothing".

    

This year's 'Darkness Into Light' event takes place on May 8th. More information can be found here

Anyone affected by issues raised in this article can contact Pieta House on 1800-247-247 or text 'HELP' to 51444 - or contact The Samaritans at 116-123