Bernard O'Shea: I started meditating and it has changed my life for the better 

With anxiety through the roof and everything irritating him, Bernard O'Shea turned to fellow comedian Dermot Whelan to learn about meditation

Bernard O'Shea. Picture: Moya Nolan

I thought I knew what meditation was. I thought I didn’t need to do it. I thought that after 42 years on the planet I was breathing fine. But I never thought in a thousand years that 16 seconds of my day could make me a happier, better and calmer person.

The day after my 41st birthday, I was driving home from the supermarket. It was during the first Covid crisis and there was an eerie feeling everywhere. Nobody was talking. Nobody was looking at each other. It felt inhuman. The basic instinct to say hello or pick an item off the top shelf for someone were now a health risk.