'Mental illness is a big white elephant in the room. You can’t hide it'

There is a lack of societal understanding about the debilitating nature of severe mental illness and the types of support people require, writes Niamh Jimenez

Izabella McKeown: 'So much is going on inside your head that you can snap at people on the bus, start yelling at random strangers, or even commit crimes. You’re in such a vulnerable state.'

“You have to hide who you are,” Sinéad O’Connor once said, giving voice to the depth of the stigma that clings to severe mental ill-health. 

Indifferent to the effects of detox celery juice, butt-shaping spinning classes, or trendy mindfulness rituals, severe mental illness refuses to yield to the “quick fix.” From its messiness, its complexity, and its cruelty, we turn away, even as we begin to normalise and raise the profile of milder forms of mental distress.