Depression “makes you want to hide away in a dark room” according to Newstalk Digital Editor Ciaran Bradley.

He joined The Pat Kenny Show today to share his experience of mental illness and how a recent bout of depression forced him to miss work.

Ciaran said it all began for him when he turned 20.

“It was really scary and I felt like I was undergoing a personality transplant,” he said.

“It feels like you’re losing a sense of yourself and who you think you are – which is a really profound thing to go through.

“I was lucky to have a support network, both medical and familial, to say something wasn’t right here and help me.

“I had the traditional ‘in the ether’ experience of depression with dark thoughts, low mood, lots of emotion, and so on."

Ciaran Bradley (left) with his brother Niall. Image: Supplied.

Ciaran, now aged 37, said his depression has evolved over the years and now affects him just “once or twice” a year.

“The way I visualise it is it’s almost like a tsunami wave that starts slowly at first and then becomes more powerful,” he said.

“Then, when you’re in the middle of it, it really takes over.

“For me, it’s a gradual feeling that you’re just a bit off and it feels, particularly at the height of it, that my brain is starting to shut down a little bit.”

Peak

When depression is at its peak for Ciaran, he said there is a desire to isolate himself from the world.

“It becomes very difficult to function as you would normally,” he said.

“I want to closet myself away a bit, there’s a lack of eye contact too with other people and things like that.

“I don’t feel self-confident in social situations whereas normally I would do.

“It makes you want to put yourself away in a dark room.”

Recommendations

He recommends for anyone suffering with mental illness to speak to someone.

“I’m very lucky because friends of mine are very good at talking about their feelings and emotions so I feel happy to do it with them,” said Ciaran.

“I appreciate people may not necessarily feel that’s immediately available to them, but I would say from my experience is that 100% of the time you will be positively surprised with how people receive what you say to them – talk to people.”

Ciaran also advised people to engage with local mental health services available to them if they are struggling, such as GPs and psychotherapists.

You can listen back here:

If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, you can contact The Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie

Main image: Ciaran Bradley (left) pictured alongside his brother and mother. Image: Supplied.