Four in ten Irish people say they would conceal a mental health difficulty

Worrying figures.

New research has revealed that almost four in ten people in Ireland would conceal if they had a problem with their mental health. The findings were revealed to coincide with the launch of the 2017 Green Ribbon Campaign by Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Helen McEntee and Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr, on Thursday. The Green Ribbon Campaign will be launched at the Mansion House in Dublin on Thursday evening in an effort to get people talking about mental health across the country. The HSE funded campaign aims to change minds about mental health by prompting hundreds of events and thousands of conversations all over Ireland during the month of May each year. Between now and the end of May, 500,000 free Green Ribbons will be sent out to communities, workplaces, schools and colleges all over Ireland. Worryingly, a new nationally representative omnibus survey conducted by Kantar Millward Brown on behalf of See Change revealed that almost four in 10 people in Ireland would conceal that they have a mental health difficulty from family, friends and colleagues. The research was conducted for the Green Ribbon campaign and funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention. This Thursday, April 27, a number of speakers, including Minister for Mental Health and Older People Helen McEntee, Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr, Kara McGann, Senior Labour Market Policy Executive at Ibec and Maura Canning, Executive Secretary at the IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee, will speak at the official launch of the campaign at the Mansion House from 7pm. The campaign, in its fifth year, will be introduced by John Saunders, CEO of See Change, while Barbara Brennan, a See Change Ambassador, will address the gathering about the effect of stigma as someone who has self-experience of mental health difficulties. Commenting on the launch of the campaign, John Saunders said: “There has been a tradition in Ireland of hiding mental illness and by extension all sorts of emotional and psychological problems are not readily acknowledged. “The individual who experiences any level of emotional difficulty or mental ill health often feels ashamed and fears he or she will be prejudiced because of these experiences. The person may worry about being ridiculed, not being valued as a good employee or being overlooked for promotion, “Often there is a fear of losing friendships or social connections and in many cases people may feel that what they are experiencing is unique and not happening to others, leading to a sense of isolation. “The solution to this scenario is creating a social environment where people can feel it is OK to talk about any emotional difficulty and to seek informal or formal help to find a solution. GR is about encouraging such conversations not only by individuals privately but in the public domain also in order to break down the barrier of silence. “The more people acknowledge issues, the more likely they are to seek and find solutions.” For more information on the Green Ribbon campaign, visit seechange.ie or greenribbon.ie.