Limerick influencer Louise Cooney's very personal reason for getting involved in mental health

Ahead of World Mental Health Day this Saturday, Pieta launches it’s free video counselling service available online. The new service will be provided in addition to the crisis intervention Helpline, its text line and its ‘in-person’ counselling service which the charity currently provides across 19 locations nationwide. Picture: Sean Curtin True Media.

In APRIL of last year Louise Cooney, the Limerick influencer with more than 210, 000 followers on Instagram, raised over €75,000 for Pieta House, the suicide prevention charity. 

Up until the pandemic hit, Louise had been living her best life in New York but she had a very personal reason for getting involved.

“Last year, my cousin, who was only 20 years old, died by suicide and I saw the wide-reaching, devastating impact it had and is having on my family,” she says.  “I thought, 'if I can do anything to help people not have to go through that experience, then I have to do it.'” 

Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Pieta has launched a new nationwide, free video counselling service in addition to its phone therapy and ‘in-person’ counselling service which the charity provides across 19 locations nationwide.

Since the beginning of March, the Pieta House crisis helpline has answered over 10,000 calls directly relating to suicide, self-harm, and suicide bereavement. 

People are suffering, says Louise, and it is more important than ever before to talk. “I try to be as vulnerable as I can when I talk about things like [mental health] because I think it can help people.”

As someone who lives her life online, Cooney was extremely sensitive to the fact that by sharing her family’s story, she was placing their grief on display.

 “Before I got involved with Pieta House, I checked with the family,” she says. “It's a tough one because it's so sensitive, but I think in order to break the stigma, we need to be comfortable talking about it.”

The 28-year-old, who is back living in Limerick, says that she has her own struggles with mental health, and living in the public eye can amplify these worries. 

“The industry that I operate in is a difficult one when it comes to your mental health. We are all sensitive and you have to be so careful what you say because you really want to mean everything you say and you don't want anything to be taken out of context.” 

Like us all, Louise has had her down days, particularly since lockdown. “Our lives have changed dramatically back then. In April, we saw an end in sight to this pandemic - we were hopeful, and now it's been going on for so long, we need to keep awareness there that it's OK to talk and to encourage people to talk if they need to.” 

She employs an arsenal of tools to cope, honed from years of travelling and six months of living on her own in New York. “As I become older, I recognise if I'm having a bad day, I need to call friends or I need to write things down - I have things that I do to get out of a bad place if I get into one. It doesn't always work, but I know now, what tools I can apply to my life to help me.” 

Influencer Louise Cooney at the Pieta House launch of its free video counselling service available online. Picture: Sean Curtin True Media

A voracious reader, Cooney favours motivational books like Oprah Winfrey's What I Know For Sure and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – “I look for books with positive messages that remind you - because you can get caught in that negative mental rut.” 

The notion of self-care and minding our mental health is a relatively new concept to us, here in Ireland, says Louise. “The Irish mentality of 'it's grand' is not always a bad thing. I think sometimes it's good to brush it off and say 'it'll be grand', but the important thing is to be able to differentiate between something that can be brushed off and an issue that is becoming or has become a daily struggle.” 

 We need to start to treat our mental health with the same level of respect that we give our physical health, she says. “People should not have to live with a mental battle every day. If you are walking around with a sprained ankle, you're going to do something about it, you're not going to tell yourself it's grand and carry on.” 

Seeking qualified help from reputable sources is just as important as talking [to family and friends] when it comes to mental health struggles, she says. “I'm not an expert and when I am advocating for Pieta House, I am aware that I have not done courses that enable me to talk to people on the level that is required to help them, but I, I will direct them to the helplines or their doctors - where qualified people can help them.” 

Much like the books she reads to boost her mindset, Louise has found a positive side to all that 2020 has thrown our way. This time has given us the opportunity for pause, she says – time to change the way we think about our lives. And how important we are. “If this year has taught us anything, it's that there are no timelines, we have to stop trying to control and plan everything because we have no control, at the end of the day. We have to learn to give in to the timing of our lives and go with the flow.” 

To avail of Pieta services, which are free of charge, visit www.pieta.ie. If you are suicidal, self-harming or bereaved you can contact Pieta 24/7 via the freephone crisis helpline on 1800 247 247, you can also text HELP to 51444 (standard message rates apply).