The focus on mental health was never as important.

This weekend the annual ‘Darkness Into Light’ fund-raiser will take place. Every year it assists Pieta House in the vital work they do to assist people who are in suicidal distress and who engage in self-harm. But after what society has experienced with the pandemic over the past 14 months the whole area of mental health has now assumed a much higher level of importance.
Speaking to many people over the past few months like postmen and women, GP’s, sports team managers, priests, public representatives and other community leaders, we now have a massive problem on our hands that will only be revealed fully as our society returns to normal.
The amount of isolation and loneliness was a problem in our society before covid but now it’s on a whole new level.
There are hundreds of thousands of people, many of them elderly, who are living on their own and many of them have had little or no inter action with any other human beings for over 12 months. Even if these people were willing to return to some kind of social inter-action in the next few months they will find it very difficult to do so.
In addition have the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their jobs and their businesses. Some of those jobs and businesses will probably be gone forever. People have mortgages, bills to pay and children to educate. Despite the good news about the vaccination roll-out the future is very bleak for many people.
A job gives a person self-worth and status regardless of what it is. Unemployment is a scourge, and people who have too music time on their hands are prime candidates to suffer mental health problems.
Our young people have been seriously affected too. Third level students have been stuck at home with no social inter-action, no part time jobs, and no fun. Life should not be like this for them.
There are so many aspects to the triggers for mental health problems. Losing loved ones and not being able to grieve properly, no family celebrations like weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, holidays, shopping trips, sporting events, dances, night clubs, theatres and cinemas. The list goes on and on.
There are three cohorts of people in our society who have been affected in vastly different ways by what has happened over the past 14 months. One section of society has prospered, people who have kept their jobs and who have saved lots of money because they have not been able to spend it. There are businesses who have prospered too and good luck to them all.
There is another section who have not been affected one way or the other by the pandemic. Their lives are much the same as before.
But then there is a huge number of people who have been devastated by covid 19 and one of the by-products of it all will be a massive upsurge in mental health problems and that will include isolation, strange behaviour, self-harm and suicide.

The Darkness Into Light fund-raiser was never more important.

Support it if you can.