All eyes were on Brendan O'Connor's show 'The Cutting Edge' last night, as guest Al Porter gave a an honest account of his experience with depression.
Porter, who has had a whirlwind year, with sold-out shows and a main part in this year's Olympia Panto, has turned his attention to a subject close to his heart.
Porter opened up on the RTÉ One show, saying that he hid his anti-depressant pills in his house and didn't tell his parents until two hour before the show. He was even hesitant to open up before he made an appearance on the show,
'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.
Porter commented on his mental illness in a hope to raise awareness for people less confident than him that might not be coping as well, '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".
People have been flocking to Twitter to praise Porter for speaking out on such a stigmatised issue;
Well the f@&k done @TheAlPorter #CuttingEdge
— Niall Breslin (@nbrez) November 16, 2016
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#CuttingEdge easily is the best chat show on RTÉ. It should be moved to Saturday night. Also, well done @TheAlPorter, always worth hearing.
— Philip Nolan (@philipnolan1) 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
You have helped so many @TheAlPorter after the #cuttingedge discussion on depression - we hope your looking after yourself too #selfcare
— Mental Health IRL (@MentalHealthIrl) November 17, 2016
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Check out the full interview below.
.@TheAlPorter talks about the stigma of taking anti-depressants.#CuttingEdge https://t.co/VUZxn50bTz
— Cutting Edge (@CuttingEdgeRTE) November 16, 2016
Also Read: 9 Everyday Things You Can Do To Look After Your Mental Health
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