Mullingar singer/songwriter and mental health activist, Bressie, joined a group of disability rights activists on stage at the Global One Young World Summit last week, to speak about the stigma associated with mental health and how this stigma needs to be tackled.
The summit, which took place in Dublin’s Conventions Centre, brought together a range of young people from all over the world as well as a host figures in international politics, religious and entertainment circles.
At a special session at One Young World entitled ‘Disability: move to include’, Bressie spoke of his struggle with mental health and what he believes are the solutions for tacking this.
In Ireland, it feels like over the years, we’ve pulled back on an elastic band an built up the tension and now it appears someone has let go and the whole country is changing its view on mental health,” said Bressie, who called on the media to play an important role in changing the stigma, giving the example of the reality-television family, the Kardashians.
“If the media can make the likes of the Kardashians relevant, it shows you how powerful they are and what they could do! It’s a pity the public always assume those in government have the power, which is untrue. We the people have the power. People by their very nature are good and we need to play off that. It’s the stigma which is doing the most damage and it cant’t be ignored,” he concluded.
Bressie gave a personal insight into his own struggles with mental health, describing the difficulties he had as a young man.
My main reason for speaking on the subject is that as a fifteen-year-old, when I started ripping my bed duvet apart because I couldn’t breathe, there was no other word for it other than terror. I actually truly felt I was possessed. As a fifteen-year-old on my hands and knees, I would be wishing someone would say it would be normal. I promised myself that if I ever got strong enough, I’d speak publicly on the subject.”
Other people who spoke along with Bressie included Caroline Casey, who shared her struggle to try to live her life as fully-sighted person. Irish activist Joanne O’Riordan, who spoke in Mullingar last week, also spoke of her living with the condition Tetra-amelia syndrome, asking the UN to build her a robot. “Think outside the box,” said Joanne. You have to go for whatever you want to do in life.”
