Kildare psychologist appeals for young men young men to seek help following cluster of suicide deaths in Newbridge

A leading Kildare psychologist has made an appeal to men of all ages to stop trying to bury their feelings when they are feeling down in the dumps and to open up and talk to someone about their problems. Justine Wilson, who provides counselling psychotherapy services in Naas, says that many men have a tendency to bottle their emotions up because they were 'brought up not to talk about their feelings'. Doctor Wilson spoke to KildareNow in the wake of the tragic cluster of suicide deaths in Newbridge over the last number of weeks. "This is devastating news for the local community, and Ireland has sustained some of the worst male suicide statistics in the world for many years.  Culturally men are brought up not to talk about their feelings, problems, worries and fears, avoiding burdening their loved ones, fearing appearing weak or unable to cope," said Dr Wilson. "Being the natural problem solvers men can find themselves in situations through life where they are overwhelmed in seeking a solution, struggling to manage the problem or situation.  Men can carry their issues alone and feel it is their sole responsibility to deal with it, this can lead to feelings of depression, isolation, despair and hopelessness." She also insisted that anyone who is feeling the pressure of their worries bogging them down should seek out advice from someone they are close to or a counselling service. The bottom line is to not bottle these things up and to seek out help, be it professional or otherwise. "If you feel the pressure of your worries, struggling to find a solution and are aware of suicidal thoughts becoming more frequent, this is a signal that you may require seeking help in the form of support through talking about the problem and your suicidal thoughts.  Support can be found through others in your network of friends or family, neighbourhood services, GP, or through talking in confidence with a professional counsellor/psychotherapist." "If you have reached a stage where you are thinking about making plans to end your life, you are potentially at risk.  Talking to someone in confidence such as Samaritans, 1 Life or Console, or going straight to your GP or the local A&E department can be lifesaving.  Having these services phone numbers in your phone contacts can be helpful, and also making a’ life-line plan’ of who you would contact if you are worried about your suicidal thoughts, and how they may escalate.  Most importantly, don’t suffer alone, there is support out there in different forms, the problem may not be fixed, but facing it with support can help you cope with it." If you are feeling low at any point there are plenty of different services available such as the Samaritans Freecall(24hrs) 116 123, 1 life Freephone (24hrs) 1800 247 100, Console’s (24hrs) helpline 1800-247247 or text the word HELP to 51444.