Sinead O'Connor facebook post today

Rasmus

What does anyone make of Sinead O'Connor's latest facebook post about taking an overdose? (It is from this evening).


It's on her 'official' facebook page.

scudzilla

Yeah, I saw it, I rang Irishtown Gardai, they said that they are aware and looking into it.
Hope she's OK and gets the help she so obviously needs

strandsman

oh gawd, she must have a new album out

Rasmus

scudzilla wrote: »

Yeah, I saw it, I rang Irishtown Gardai, they said that they are aware and looking into it.
Hope she's OK and gets the help she so obviously needs

Yeah luckily a lot of people seemed to have rung it in.

allthedoyles

she needs help fast - so do her children

IsMiseMyself

Ah jesus, lads, that's distressing.

furiousox

Just file it alongside her other episodes.

I'm a priest
I'm a nun
I'm a lesbian
I want to get married (to a man)
I'm retiring
I'm playing Vicar St next week etc etc

crazygeryy

scudzilla wrote: »

Yeah, I saw it, I rang Irishtown Gardai, they said that they are aware and looking into it.
Hope she's OK and gets the help she so obviously needs

you rang irishtown gardai?really?
do you know her personally?

anewme

What the hell does it matter if the person knew her personally or not? If I saw a stranger about to jump off a bridge I'd ring the Gardai.

Well done that person and indeed all the people who rang the gardai.

I've had a look at her facebook page and it's clear this is way beyond the attention seeking or new album coming out as has been claimed here. This is a woman in a very very dark place and descending further who needs support rather than to be mocked.

Some people clearly need to cop on. Sorry to see the stigma around mental illness is still alive and well.

The is a very very sad situation for Sinead and indeed for her family. My sympathies lie with them all.

December2012

furiousox wrote: »

Just file it alongside her other episodes.

I'm a priest
I'm a nun
I'm a lesbian
I want to get married (to a man)
I'm retiring
I'm playing Vicar St next week etc etc

She still is worthy of help and respect

crazygeryy

anewme wrote: »

What the hell does it matter if the person knew her personally or not? If I saw a stranger about to jump off a bridge I'd ring the Gardai.

Well done that person and indeed all the people who rang the gardai.

I've had a look at her facebook page and it's clear this is way beyond the attention seeking or new album coming out as has been claimed here. This is a woman in a very very dark place and descending further who needs support rather than to be mocked.

Some people clearly need to cop on. Sorry to see the stigma around mental illness is still alive and well.

The is a very very sad situation for Sinead and indeed for her family. My sympathies lie with them all.

that is a completely and i mean a completely different suituation.this woman is one of the most high profile women in the country.
i just find it weird that a complete stranger sees a facebook post and said jeez sinead o connor is in trouble i better ring the gardai.
maybe its well meaning but jesus its like me seeing that daniel o donnell just fell and broke his ankle on facebook.wait a minute ill ring an ambulance for him.
its madness.
and stigma my arse im well aware of the awful affects mental illness has on people,my point has nothing got to do with it.

anewme

crazygeryy wrote: »

that is a completely and i mean a completely different suituation.this woman is one of the most high profile women in the country.
i just find it weird that a complete stranger sees a facebook post and said jeez sinead o connor is in trouble i better ring the gardai.
maybe its well meaning but jesus its like me seeing that daniel o donnell just fell and broke his ankle on facebook.wait a minute ill ring an ambulance for him.
its madness.
and stigma my arse im well aware of the awful affects mental illness has on people,my point has nothing got to do with it.

It's not a completely different situation. It is a stranger in trouble, their profile does not matter one iota.

If you have Facebook, go back and read her posts over the past few days. It is clearly someone mentally ill. I'm actually shocked at what I read.

Then come back and stand over your post. You were trying to be smart with someone trying to help another human being on the edge. No need whatsoever.

Rasmus

Apparently she is ok and is being treated.

swarlb

anewme wrote: »

It's not a completely different situation. It is a stranger in trouble, their profile does not matter one iota.

If you have Facebook, go back and read her posts over the past few days. It is clearly someone mentally ill. I'm actually shocked at what I read.

Then come back and stand over your post. You were trying to be smart with someone trying to help another human being on the edge. No need whatsoever.

With all due respect, she is not a 'stranger', she is a reasonably high profile public figure. Millions of people worldwide would have at least heard of her. Being unwell, no matter the condition is one thing, put publishing your illness for the world to see, is attention seeking at best. She is by no means a stupid or inarticulate women, and has family and friends of her own. They should be the first port of call, not complete 'strangers' on the internet.
I'm suffering myself at the moment, will YOU call a doctor for me.
A cry for help is one thing, getting others to cry on her behalf is something else.

Asmodean

Meh.

Rasmus

swarlb wrote: »

With all due respect, she is not a 'stranger', she is a reasonably high profile public figure. Millions of people worldwide would have at least heard of her. Being unwell, no matter the condition is one thing, put publishing your illness for the world to see, is attention seeking at best. She is by no means a stupid or inarticulate women, and has family and friends of her own. They should be the first port of call, not complete 'strangers' on the internet.
I'm suffering myself at the moment, will YOU call a doctor for me.
A cry for help is one thing, getting others to cry on her behalf is something else.

Nobody knows what is going on in someone else's head. 'Publishing' a cry for help is a new thing but it is still serious and that person deserves help.
Calling it attention-seeking compounds the problem society has with mental illness. It in fact undermines any work that is being done in suicide awareness.
Today too many people just leave it to the next person to report a problem, one assuming another will take care of it. The people who called the Gardai were being good citizens - this is citizenship 101 really.

You say that you are suffering at the moment and wonder if someone would call a doctor on you. I think that if you posted on boards that you were troubled and had taken an overdose, hundreds of posters would report the post and the mods would attempt to contact you. Just something to think about.

swarlb

Rasmus wrote: »

Nobody knows what is going on in someone else's head. 'Publishing' a cry for help is a new thing but it is still serious and that person deserves help.
Calling it attention-seeking compounds the problem society has with mental illness. It in fact undermines any work that is being done in suicide awareness.
Today too many people just leave it to the next person to report a problem, one assuming another will take care of it. The people who called the Gardai were being good citizens - this is citizenship 101 really.

You say that you are suffering at the moment and wonder if someone would call a doctor on you. I think that if you posted on boards that you were troubled and had taken an overdose, hundreds of posters would report the post and the mods would attempt to contact you. Just something to think about.

Yes I am suffering, horribly, and first thing in the morning I'm calling my dentist. It does not have to be a 'mental health' issue, for someone to seek help, but unfortunately in O'Connors case it's all about mental health.. hers ! I read recently that Charlie Sheen is HIV positive... should I call someone in Beverly Hills.. medics perhaps.. emergency room... Jay Leno maybe ?
The one truth emerging from all this... is that it is indeed true.. that Sinead O'Connor needs help... and the sooner the better !

Not Now John

strandsman wrote: »

oh gawd, she must have a new album out

Her last album was excellent.

anewme

swarlb wrote: »

With all due respect, she is not a 'stranger', she is a reasonably high profile public figure. Millions of people worldwide would have at least heard of her. Being unwell, no matter the condition is one thing, put publishing your illness for the world to see, is attention seeking at best. She is by no means a stupid or inarticulate women, and has family and friends of her own. They should be the first port of call, not complete 'strangers' on the internet.
I'm suffering myself at the moment, will YOU call a doctor for me.
A cry for help is one thing, getting others to cry on her behalf is something else.

The question asked was did the person know her personally before they called the Gardai.

She did not ask anyone to call a Doctor or the Gardai.

People did so out of compassion and empathy. Their goodwill and concern should be thanked instead of being slagged off.

if you read her posts, she feels rejected by her family and friends, and is alone, isolated and vulnerable.

Just because she is not stupid or inarticulate, does not mean she can't be mentally ill and all the posts she published very clearly indicate she is not in a good place.

Better to take the risk and call the Gardai, than to see something bad unfold in the public eye but say nothing for fear of being slagged off over the Internet and feel guilty then if something happened.

It's called compassion.

Wanderer78

hope shes doing ok. best of luck sinead. the world needs you

pjmn

Has she ever actually been diagnosed with a mental illness?

hawkwind23

Ive been thinking of dropping of social media for a while now.
Some of the comments on her page and on here are disgusting.
Whats wrong with people nowadays?

Harry Angstrom

pjmn wrote: »

Has she ever actually been diagnosed with a mental illness?

I'm not sure that attention seeking is classed as a mental illness.

Wanderer78

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Ive been thinking of dropping of social media for a while now.
Some of the comments on her page and on here are disgusting.
Whats wrong with people nowadays?

a lot of people dont think before they type and think they can type whatever the hell they want. its just called ignorance. best of luck to the woman. if this story is true, she has a long hard road ahead

scudzilla

crazygeryy wrote: »

you rang irishtown gardai?really?
do you know her personally?

Yes, I rang Irishtown Garda, if ANYONE needed help I'd do what I can, in this case it was a simple 2min call to the Gardai asking them if they were aware of her threats to commit suicide. If I'd done nothing and nobody else had done nothing then woke in the morning to read the news that shed killed herself then I'd be pretty pissed wit myself .

Wanderer78

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

I'm not sure that attention seeking is classed as a mental illness.

part and parcel im afraid. mental health problems are damn scary

Full Marx

pjmn wrote: »

Has she ever actually been diagnosed with a mental illness?

PTSD.

anewme

scudzilla wrote: »

Yes, I rang Irishtown Garda, if ANYONE needed help I'd do what I can, in this case it was a simple 2min call to the Gardai asking them if they were aware of her threats to commit suicide. If I'd done nothing and nobody else had done nothing then woke in the morning to read the news that shed killed herself then I'd be pretty pissed wit myself .

Please don't feel the need to justify or explain yourself for being a decent human being.

threats of suicide are scary because you always need to err on the side of caution, even if you think there is a chance it could be attention seeking.

sending you a virtual handshake.

I've read back over her recent posts on Facebook and they are concerning to say the least. Thinking of her family and friends as well. It must be tough.

alan partridge aha

If she really wanted to commit suicide she would not have posted it on facebook.

walshb

Can't believe people are falling for this. The lengths this woman will go to for attention is mind blowing. It's an insult to those genuinely tortured and suffering with depression. She's been peddling this depression angle for years now. When are you mugs gonna wake up?

NIMAN

How come this isn't on the main Irish news websites?

No mention on RTE, Irish independent or the Irish Times

spurious

NIMAN wrote: »

How come this isn't on the main Irish news websites?

Maybe they don't think it's appropriate to report on a mentally ill person breaking down.

NIMAN

It's still news though, they fill their sites with so much old nonsense, I was expecting it to be all over them, but maybe your logic is right.

Wanderer78

NIMAN wrote: »

How come this isn't on the main Irish news websites?

No mention on RTE, Irish independent or the Irish Times

plenty of english media sources running it along with breaking news

alan partridge aha

spurious wrote: »

Maybe they don't think it's appropriate to report on a mentally ill person breaking down.

Or maybe they are fed up like most of us with her antics.

long_b

NIMAN wrote: »

It's still news though, they fill their sites with so much old nonsense, I was expecting it to be all over them, but maybe your logic is right.

Maybe it's because they're petrified to report anything to do with John Waters?

Rasmus

NIMAN wrote: »

How come this isn't on the main Irish news websites?

No mention on RTE, Irish independent or the Irish Times

Maybe tomorrow. That it was only on facebook and not her website might have been one reason, then the issue was 'resolved' in a couple of hours. No serious news outlet wants to report unverified or old news.

simdan

This is why Facebook should be banned. Just a horrible depressing place. I'm glad I shut my account down 2 years ago.

anewme

simdan wrote: »

This is why Facebook should be banned. Just a horrible depressing place. I'm glad I shut my account down 2 years ago.

Do you know what, you are so right. It's extremely negative. Between type amen for some three headed alien that's clearly been photoshopped to extreme cases of animal abuse and even violence against our fellow man. I think maybe time for me to opt out of it as well.

CarrickMcJoe

She's probably just mad that she wasn't called up on stage by Bono last night and that Imelda May one was....

Meangadh

I've no particular interest in the woman, I'm not a fan of most of her music & I agree that she craves attention to the point of ridiculousness and annoyance.

This was different though. It was clearly beyond attention seeking, she is a very very sick woman. And you have to remember that her children are involved here too (grown up or otherwise). Some of the comments that have been made about her are at best ignorant and at worst cruel and heartless.

Yes, she's hard going to listen to and yes, I'd much prefer if she wasn't such an attention seeker; but this particular event was a very public breakdown. A quick read of all the posts she had up over the last 24 hours would show you that.

Very sad, hope she gets better soon. For the sake of her children at least, if nothing else.

PressRun

As someone who has had my fair share of ups and downs with serious mental illness, much of the ranting and raving on her Facebook page looks very familiar, and some of the reactions to it have made it patently clear how stigmatized mental illness still is in this country. From the 'attention-seeker' accusations to flat-out denial that she has a mental illness (sure, people on here know her mind better than she does), it's shocking to see how little people still understand mental illness and worse, don't seem to care. It's been romanticized way too much to the point that people think that it's all this head in the hands, locking yourself away and talking to no one crap, which is just not how it is for many who deal with serious mental illnesses. Many mentally ill people are difficult - they can be irritating, over dramatic, angry, paranoid and sometimes the things they say and do can feel very mean-spirited. I've been there with the railing against family members, feeling persecuted and paranoid, making grand declarations and gestures regarding suicide, and I know that things I've done and said have hurt people close to me. Unfortunately that is sometimes part and parcel of certain illnesses, and it takes a great deal of understanding to cope with people who have to deal with these illnesses. Thankfully I'm not a celebrity with a significant online fanbase that sees every impulsive thing I do.

It has seemed plainly obvious for years that Sinead O'Connor is suffering with mental health issues. I hope she gets the support she needs to cope with this, from both professionals and family. It can be lonely at times.

KwackerJack

Is it any wonder people are commiting suicide considering people's attitudes!!

I cried out for help once, it was ignored and i was told I was being silly and to grow up and take it like a man!!

A few days later I woke up in agonising pain in a hospital bed covered in wires and on oxygen in shock, not because what had happened but because I had to face another day feeling like there was no way out only to die!

I hope people here with a stupid attitude never feel like they need to kill themselves to escape the pain and torture of a mental illness, it's no joke and until it happens to you or someone close to you it will be impossible for you to know how hard it is to wake up each day and face the world.

trixychic

anewme wrote: »

What the hell does it matter if the person knew her personally or not? If I saw a stranger about to jump off a bridge I'd ring the Gardai.

Well done that person and indeed all the people who rang the gardai.

I've had a look at her facebook page and it's clear this is way beyond the attention seeking or new album coming out as has been claimed here. This is a woman in a very very dark place and descending further who needs support rather than to be mocked.

Some people clearly need to cop on. Sorry to see the stigma around mental illness is still alive and well.

The is a very very sad situation for Sinead and indeed for her family. My sympathies lie with them all.

I suffer from mental illnesses myself and have been in those dark dark places.

But for me??? It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation. It could be true it might not be. After a while of calling wolf though ppl are going to be sceptical and call her on it. I think that's what's happening now.

It has nothing to do with the stigma on mental health. It has to do with her.

CaptainInsano

simdan wrote: »

This is why Facebook should be banned. Just a horrible depressing place. I'm glad I shut my account down 2 years ago.

You're glad you shut down Facebook 2 years ago because now you can read about depressing Facebook posts on Boards.ie instead? Well done.

CaptainInsano

trixychic wrote: »

I suffer from mental illnesses myself and have been in those dark dark places.

But for me??? It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation. It could be true it might not be. After a while of calling wolf though ppl are going to be sceptical and call her on it. I think that's what's happening now.

It has nothing to do with the stigma on mental health. It has to do with her.

She's well known to suffer from serious mental health issues? How in God's name is it boy who cried wolf?

trixychic

CaptainInsano wrote: »

She's well known to suffer from serious mental health issues? How in God's name is it boy who cried wolf?

She keeps claiming to do this that and the other and half the time she doesn't. It's like she does it for the attention. Not saying that she does for definate. That's just how it comes across to me.

I don't think being in the lime light has ever helped her.

CaptainInsano

trixychic wrote: »

She keeps claiming to do this that and the other and half the time she doesn't. It's like she does it for the attention. Not saying that she does for definate. That's just how it comes across to me.

I don't think being in the lime light has ever helped her.

Irrational ramblings are a symptom of many serious mental illnesses, and threats of suicide should be looked at every single time with sufferers as it's so common you wouldn't believe. People are criticising her for naming and shaming her family without apparently realising that a psychotic illness follows no rhyme or reason. My friend with schizophrenia thought his parents were trying to kill him, when he felt better he realised those were thoughts outside of his control and irrational. When she's doing well she is very coherent and her focus to her music is testament to that. Let's try to be less cynical and more compassionate.

CaoimheSquee

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

I'm not sure that attention seeking is classed as a mental illness.

Yep folks, you must fall under certain categories before you get compassion or be worthy for help.
If you are well known and post cries for help and your mental break down on facebook you are just attention seeking and don't deserve any sympathy or help and should expect abuse and rejection.

However if you are not well known and keep it all to yourself you're grand and totally deserve sympathy and help. Hopefully before it's too late and all that.

strandsman

NIMAN wrote: »

How come this isn't on the main Irish news websites?

No mention on RTE, Irish independent or the Irish Times

I bet she'll be on the late late next friday night, tubs loves that kinda stuff

Arbiter of Good Taste

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

Yep folks, you must fall under certain categories before you get compassion or be worthy for help.
If you are well known and post cries for help and your mental break down on facebook you are just attention seeking and don't deserve any sympathy or help and should expect abuse and rejection.

However if you are not well known and keep it all to yourself you're grand and totally deserve sympathy and help. Hopefully before it's too late and all that.

I think the issue for a lot of people is that the anonymous people who suffer in silence and dignity don't get a look in at all.

Unfortunately for other sufferers, Sinead O'Connor is not a nice person at all - just because she has a mental illness shouldn't preclude us from admitting that. She's probably not the best spokesperson for mental illnesses if we're looking for people to be more understanding.