MUCH-loved mental health advocate Majella O’Donnell has called on people to never delay in telling others they need help.
Majella, who is married to Donegal singer, Daniel O’Donnell, has always been open about having lived with depression since she was a teenager. Since her mid-30s, Majella has been on medication.
However, last year, Majella was hospitalised for the very first time for clinical depression after becoming overwhelmed. Having sought advice from her doctor, Majella entered inpatient care at a psychiatric hospital.
In an RTÉ interview, Majella has opened up about experiencing her lowest ebb and spending 10 weeks in hospital.
“I just went back to that dark old place again and I could not get out of it,” Majella told Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1.
“I felt I’d had enough of this, I can’t do this anymore.”
“I was just sitting in a corner of the room, dead inside almost.
“I felt this time, I give up, and I relinquish myself to the professionals.”
Majella told of how she was “completely burnt out” when she went into hospital, adding: “I don’t think I spoke to Daniel or my daughter or anybody for five weeks when I went in because I had nothing to say at all,” she said.
Thankfully, Majella now says she is in a much stronger and better place with her own mental health. However, she has used her own recent experience to call on others in need of help to reach out.
“It was a tough time, but it needed to be done. I won’t say it will never happen again because you live with it, it never goes.
“All you can do is keep hoping and trying to stay positive.
“You can try on your own, lots of times you can cope with it, but the last time I couldn’t cope with it anymore. It’s always good to go and speak to the doctor and tell them how you’re feeling,” she said.
For mental health services and information, visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie or telephone 1800 111 888, anytime day or night, for information on mental health services in your area.
Samaritans volunteers are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on the freephone helpline number 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie
