Excellent TV and very brave words.
Comedian Al Porter has seen his star continue to rise this year after a string of sold-out performances around the country, but he has recently turned his attention to a topic that’s close to his own heart and mind.
The Dubliner will be joining Richie Sadlier and others to attend a landmark mental health event in Tallaght on December 3rd, and he used his most recent TV appearance to discuss his own battle with depression.
Speaking on RTÉ One’s the Cutting Edge programme, the comedian told host Brendan O’Connor that he even hid the pills in his house so they wouldn’t be found. In fact, Porter was even reluctant to talk about the issue to begin with.
“I really debated talking about this tonight because I’m going to tell you something now, and everybody watching, something that I didn’t even tell my mam until two hours ago. A friend of mine told me “Al, if you’re not enjoying everything that you’re getting – while having a great time, a great life and winning all these events by making people laugh – maybe it’s not your circumstances, maybe it’s a physical thing. Maybe it’s an imbalance, go to a doctor”, he said.
“I went to a doctor, I wouldn’t even go to my own family doctor, I was too afraid. So I went to a doctor in Carlow. He said “look, you need anti-depressants and I never though that I would be that person. Nobody in my family would think that I would be that person”, he added.
Prior to the show airing, Porter hadn’t even discussed the issue with his family, stating that “I’ve been hiding them in my house, I have had my friend go and pick them up because I don’t want to go in with a prescription. I’ve had the prescription written to different names. That stigma, I never really thought it was real. I heard people talk about it and I’m kind of going “I can’t really get where you’re coming from”, and then I suddenly realise, someone that’s as confident as me who tells people every detail about their life – I couldn’t just admit that yeah, I need those”, he said.
“If I can’t cope with that, Jesus knows how somebody who doesn’t have the confidence that I do, someone who’s in their bed for three weeks and is going “who am I gonna ring to pick them up for me”.
Here’s the interview in full along with a brief sample of the people who were moved by Porter’s open and honest words.
.@TheAlPorter talks about the stigma of taking anti-depressants.#CuttingEdge https://t.co/VUZxn50bTz
— Cutting Edge (@CuttingEdgeRTE) November 16, 2016
Well done @TheAlPorter! Can't have been easy to talk about depression, but will hopefully help destroy that stigma. https://t.co/o6VbCOEIEQ
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) November 16, 2016
#CuttingEdge – Al Porter take a bow your honesty is admirable👏👏Its Ok not to feel Ok And absolutely Ok to ask for help
— Anne McGowan (@AnneMcGowan12) November 16, 2016
#CuttingEdge – Al Porter take a bow your honesty is admirable👏👏Its Ok not to feel Ok And absolutely Ok to ask for help
— Anne McGowan (@AnneMcGowan12) November 16, 2016
Fair play to @TheAlPorter for sharing his depression story tonight, more young men should feel as free to speak about this #CuttingEdge
— Seán Dunne (@SeanJDunne) November 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/TheModestGatsby/status/799009190245081088
thank you for coming forward it means everything to fellow sufferers.
— Catherine H Lindsay (@hettybell) November 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/Clarke3Anne/status/799063648786333698
Agree #AlPorter is a #NationalTreasure 🍀 & love his honesty about his own #Mentalhealth Sending virtual hug to u.x @TheAlPorter #CuttingEdge
— Suzanne Doyle (@SuzanneDoyleSDC) November 16, 2016
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