Personal Stories

Behind every statistic is a person, and a family. These accounts — some shared by grieving families, others written anonymously — show what happens when the system has nowhere to put someone living with both an addiction and a mental illness.

In memory · “Anyone’s Brother”

Families who chose to share their loss

Shared by his family

Sean O’Keeffe, RIP

“Last year, our youngest, much-loved 28-year-old brother died of an overdose after struggling for years with serious mental health challenges and then addiction. As his family we tried to support him and he tried to help himself, but his needs were too complex and the services ill-equipped to support him.”

Numerous A&E visits and admissions for medical complications followed — but the one conversation that was always had was about the addiction, never the whole person.

Shared by his family

Caoilte O’Broin, RIP

Caoilte developed mental health difficulties and began to abuse alcohol. His family were told that “nothing could be done to help Caoilte, because he drank heavily.”

His family went to social media looking for help. Sadly, that help never arrived, and Caoilte died on 2nd January 2016. We are grateful to the O’Broin family — truly brave people — for allowing us to share their story to prevent others.

Names changed to protect confidentiality

More voices

Mark’s story

A year after three months of residential treatment for alcohol addiction — with no one-to-one counselling and no assessment — Mark felt worse than he ever had. He’d been told that giving up drink would make him feel better. Instead, he had picked the place he would take his own life. His underlying mental health had never been treated.

Mary’s story

Mary’s daughter Sarah was desperately worried. Diagnosed with depression over ten years earlier, Mary had survived three suicide attempts. At 57, having never drunk in her life, she had begun drinking heavily — self-medicating the depression. Discharged after two days because she “felt fine,” her two conditions were never treated as one.

Fay’s story

Reared by loving parents on a farm in rural Ireland, Fay married young and built a quiet life. Her account traces how, step by step, mental health difficulties and addiction can take hold of an ordinary, happy life — and how hard it is to find help that treats both.

Brian’s story

Told by his nephew: once always well-dressed and presentable, Brian had become unrecognisable by the time they met at a family funeral. Brought to A&E in a bad way, he was simply sent home with a consultant appointment six months away. A business professional, his nephew set out to find the help the system wouldn’t provide.

Father Peter McVerry has also spoken with Dual Diagnosis Ireland about the gap between policy aspiration and the reality faced by the people he works with. (Apart from Fr McVerry, Caoilte O’Broin and Sean O’Keeffe, all names have been changed to protect confidentiality.)

Would you like to tell your story?

Your experience can help change the system

Tell us about your experience of addiction and mental health problems — without being publicly identified. You can be a parent, spouse, friend, a caring professional, or someone living with these problems yourself.

We have a sympathetic journalist who will listen, write your story, and check it’s right with you before anything is published. As you can see from the stories here, no identifying details are ever published without your specific permission. You can also simply write it up and email it to us.

Share your story

In confidence

Email us at [email protected]. Nothing is published without your explicit consent, and identifying details are always removed unless you ask otherwise.