Some people who think they have mental health problems are likely just having a hard time, Ciara Kelly has said. 

Today on Newstalk Breakfast, psychotherapist Dr Padraic Gibson said he was increasingly worried that people are being incorrectly diagnosed with mental health problems. 

He described greater awareness of conditions as beneficial in many ways but also a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, as people can be too quick to assume they have a medical condition when they hear the symptoms.

Before she worked for Newstalk, Ciara worked for 20 years as a doctor, two of which she spent specialising in psychiatry. 

“In general practice, we would say 70% of what comes through the door is mental health,” she told listeners. 

“You have to be very careful because... acceptance and destigmatisation of mental health is very important. 

“Particularly in the country, which is the one that we live in, which had more people incarcerated under mental health acts than any other country in the world per capita.”

Doctor consulting a patient.

Ciara said Ireland has historically been “very poor” at helping people who suffer from mental health conditions but she is inclined to agree with Dr Gibson’s analysis. 

“There is a lot of self-diagnosis that is out there and sometimes I worry that people are labelling themselves - and maybe liking labelling themselves - to some extent because it gives them an easy out, an easy explanation,” she said. 

“Sometimes life is just hard and you don’t actually have anything wrong with you; life is just hard. 

“We have to walk a line between coping with things and fostering resilience… It’s a complex area and the online version makes it very simple and trite.” 

'We need to make sure people are resilient'

Speaking on the programme afterwards, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said he was very aware that Ireland’s record on mental health has long been poor.

“My concern is… we [may] have a group of people within society who are being told that any time you feel down or anxious or worried that that is somehow a mental health issue - which in some cases it may be, but in many cases it may not be,” he said. 

“It’s just that life can be tough… There are bumps in the road and we need to make sure people are resilient. 

“One of my concerns is around the, I think, really significant damage that social media is doing to younger people. 

“We’ve more information coming out from pretty mild effects to catastrophic effects around body dysmorphia, suicide ideation and for forth.” 

In Budget 2024, €1.3 billion was allocated by the Government to the funding of mental health services.

Main image: Ciara Kelly presenting Newstalk Breakfast studio. 12/02/2024. Image: Newstalk