Sinead O’Conner’s Mental Health Struggle

This blog discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

After a successful career that spanned multiple decades, Sinéad O’Connor has passed away at the age of 56. The official cause of death has not been made public yet. I was reading about her life, and I was reminded that she lost her son, Shane, at the age of 17 to suicide in January of 2022. Her three other children are Jake (36), Roisin (27) and Yeshua (15).

I loved Sinead. It’s been a while since I listened to her tunes. Do yourself a favor and binge on her songs. They are beautiful, powerful, and sometimes gut wrenching.

She is known for recording a version of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ and just killing it. Take a listen.

It’s the memories of listening to her music when I was growing up coupled with knowing she experienced the tragic loss of her son, a bond we share, that have me thinking about her life and legacy so much as I write this blog. I can’t help but feel the heaviness of mental health struggles, and knowing there is just no easy answer for the beautiful souls who find themselves in a struggle with depression and anxiety and how hard that makes living life. And I can’t help but feel beyond frustrated at the way this country fails those who battle both mental health issues and addiction.

Not only did Sinead struggle with bipolar disorder, but she also revealed that she struggled with depression, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), and suicidal thoughts. During a 2005 interview with The Independent UK, Sinead revealed that she tried to take her life in 1999. “I have made one suicide attempt in my life, and that was on my 33rd birthday, after a session in court that day where it was suggested that for the rest of my life I would only see my daughter once a month,” she explained at the time. “I made a very serious suicide attempt, and I did almost die.”

In the years closer to her death, Sinead spoke to PEOPLE about the treatments she tried to help with her mental health. She also revealed that she felt her CPTSD was unpredictable. “You can never predict what might trigger the [PTSD]. I describe myself as a rescue dog: I’m fine until you put me in a situation that even slightly smells like any of the trauma I went through, then I flip my lid,” she admitted during the 2021 interview.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve heard about sharp increases in the number of people suffering from mental health problems.

With a health care system already overburdened and seemingly unable to deal with the rise in mental health issues, America is facing what is being called a mental health crisis.

Whether it’s anxiety levels in college students, concerns about the opioid epidemic, rising rates of autism diagnoses, or the potential to overdiagnose ADHD, there’s no doubt that public awareness of mental health is growing. However, despite this increased awareness, all mental health issues face a common challenge: Individuals in need of treatment often struggle to receive timely treatment and effective treatment.

Most individuals who need mental health services either do not or cannot access appropriate treatment. The reasons for this are multifaceted and complex. Aside from longstanding challenges—such as the difficulty of acknowledging that you may be struggling with mental illness and the potential stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment—there simply are not enough trained providers to meet the demands of the population.

Here are some ways to solve the mental health crisis:

• Increase mental health care funding to provide better treatment.
• Provide better care and services in jail and prisons.
• Create more community centers and inpatient facilities.
• Provide compassionate care and support.
• Teach young people the importance of sleep, excercise, and socializing to tackle the global mental health crisis heightened by the pandemic.
• Counterbalance the effects of policies that have led to periods of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly where young people are concerned.
• Continue stigma busting.

Americans have accepted the mistreatment and neglect of people with serious mental illnesses for far too long. It’s within our power to break that cycle now, and to change the way that the most vulnerable among us live for generations to come. (Read this very informative article from The New York Times, “The Solution to America’s Mental Health Crisis Already Exists”).

Rest in gentle peace Sinead, along with your beloved son, Shane.

(Click to hear her song, ‘My Special Child’)