doug

Doug Leddin writes:

Yesterday evening I shared a story about my struggle over the past 10 years with depression and trying to encourage others to open up and talk to friends and family.

In 12 hours its been shared a few thousand times and watched over 200,000 times and I am getting so many positive comments from friends,family and strangers.

[Dublin radio station] Spin1038 shared it off their own back and it made me think maybe I should reach out to news outlets I read every day. I am a big reader of  Broadsheet and think the video (above) and article [link below] could help some people. Thank you.

Doug Leddin (facebook)

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15 thoughts on “Shared

  1. kellma

    What great courage and determination you show. What you have done is not easy, by any stretch….

  2. Jessica Carroll

    This guy wants to be the new Bressie™.

    Depression celebrity-ism is very on trend at the moment.

    1. Nilbert

      I agree, heartless as it sounds. It’s great that people are more open about mental health issues, but there’s something else going on, some sort of fetishisation. It’s very unhealthy.
      The soundtrack made me wince.

    2. theCitizen

      I think you unwittingly showed a lot about your thought processes with that comment Jessica.

      Fair play Doug, probably saved a life with this.

    3. Digs

      +1. Bessie will be apoplectic! Depression awareness is so last year. I only say that as a survivor…

    4. Kieran NYC

      Yeah. Fair play to him for being smart enough to get depressed 10 years ago so he can wangle himself a hugely lucrative Broadsheet article or two today. Long term planning right there.

    5. Nice Anne {Dammit}

      Jessica, love, you need to talk to someone.
      Being jealous of someone with mental health issues is not the sign of a healthy mind.
      Best of luck to you with your recovery.

  3. H

    Some people seem to have completely missed the point, it’s very easy for people who don’t have depression to talk about it, but despite all of the recent publicity etc it is still very difficult for people with depression, or any other mental illness, to do so because of fear, compounded by the illness, of being stigmatised or rejected.

    1. Clive Northwood

      Agreed. I fully salute Doug for doing this. Takes a lot of bravery, and the naysayers are clearly dopes. What’s wrong with celebrities helping to normalize mental illness? It’s better than a lot of other stuff they do.

      But the idea that depression sufferers should “just talk” also requires that other people listen, and listen well, and this is hard to find. I have suffered on and off from depression for years, but would only tell a small number of people about it. Some of my closest friends don’t know about, simply because I know they won’t get it.

      Arguably, if I talked to them they might get it, but explaining the ins-and-outs of mental illness isn’t something you’re too interested in when you’re at the bottom of a hole. At that time, you need people to throw ropes.

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