With great sadness, ENUSP learned about the tragic death of the son of singer Sinéad O’Connor, Shane O’Connor, a 17-year old boy, who was institutionalized in Ireland and placed under ‘suicide watch’ when he escaped and was found dead after committing suicide. Singer Sinéad O’Connor, presently known as Shuhada Sadaqat and who has been open about her own mental health struggles, now criticizes the Irish authorities and family care services for failing in her son’s care. “May God forgive the Irish State for I never will” posted the singer on Twitter.
ENUSP, the European Network of Users, Ex-Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, has been advocating for the reform of mental health services since its foundation in 1991. Unfortunately, this is not the first young person to have died in the hands of mental health care services in Europe. Yet Shane O’Connor should actually be the last person who did not get the right support. It is outrageous that the mental health care sector shows so little change, while physical health care systems demonstrate they are able to change rapidly, as has been shown by the pandemic. Complaints about the mental health care services should be taken seriously and be used to improve services.
Details about the tragedy are not fully known. Yet nonetheless the situation indicates that the quality of psychosocial support in Ireland needs to be improved. Irish organizations have been advocating for critical reforms and change for many years.
The concept of locked doors may seem like it offers safety from suicide attempts, yet in reality, deprivation of liberty actually causes increased feelings of distress, especially when it is a ‘protective reaction’ to someone’s confession of inner struggles. Persons with lived experience describe that this feels like being punished for having problems.
Across the world, testimonies of survivors of suicidal episodes indicate that their recovery was fostered mainly by (re)finding hope and meaning, indicating that recovery is much more a journey of the heart than a biomedical model of claimed ‘chemical imbalances’. Yet, current mental health systems have not been designed to facilitate a journey of the heart. In fact, under European standards, many institutions resemble prison type settings based on a medical model and a coercive approach, rather than a social model of supportive services for personal healing. ENUSP has repeatedly received testimonies from Irish users, ex-users and survivors of psychiatry, who explain that the Irish mental health services violate human rights and are in need of thorough reform based on the will and preferences of those who use them.
ENUSP is saddened to see public reactions reinforcing stigma, e.g. claiming that mental health struggles supposedly made her a bad mother, when in fact, such a tragedy can hit any part of the community. In our memories are the sad experiences of the former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen who had to live through a similar tragedy. It is a tragedy, and perhaps it could have been prevented if the mental health services were better. It is unfair to blame it on a parent or on a diagnosis. Life can be very complicated at times, and scapegoating is a waste of time when the focus should be on saving future generations from such tragedies.
Since the details about the situation are not public, drawing conclusions on this individual tragedy is not appropriate at this stage. ENUSP expresses its condolences and wishes strength to the family and friends affected to deal with their loss.