Al Porter has opened up about his battle with depression and people have applauded him for it.
The comedian is one of Ireland’s top funny men in the industry with his witty and happy humour – but it hasn’t been easy for him.
“I’m going to tell you something that I only told my mum two hours ago when I rang her because I knew I was going to say it to you,” he said.
Depression: Al revealed that he has been taking anti-depressants and his struggle with the stigma of it | VIPIRELAND.COM
Al admitted that a friend advised him to go see a doctor because he wasn’t enjoying his career or life.
“I went to a doctor, wouldn’t even go to my own doctor, my family doctor, [I] was afraid. Went to a doctor in Carlow so I could go outside of Dublin who said ‘Look, you need anti-depressants,'” he told Brendan O’Connor on RTE’s Cutting Edge
“I never thought I would be that person. No body in my family would think I’d be that person. I said it to my mum earlier, I said, ‘Just to let you know, I’m going to talk on Brendan O’Connor about talking anti-depressants. I know I haven’t told you this.’ And she ‘Well no you haven’t.’ I’ve been hiding [the tablets] in my house. I have had my friend go and pick them up because I don’t want to go in with a prescription. I’ve had the persctiption written to different names.
“That stigma, I never actually thought it was real. I heard people like Bressie who’s a friend of mine talk about it kind of going, ‘I can’t really get where you’re coming from.’ Then suddenly someone as confident as me, I couldn’t admit, ‘Yeah I need those pills. They’re going to keep me balanced.'”
Many were impressed and thankful for Al’s honesty on the show for helping break down the stigma by talking about depression and anti-depressants.
People have said online that the quality of guests and the topics of conversation on Brendan O’Connor’s Cutting Edge have made it a serious contender for The Late Late Show.
On Twitter, there was a huge amount of praise for the Tallaght native for opening up about something so personal.
Al Porter proved to be an incredible guest again on #CuttingEdge
— Deirdre Hanley (@deefran13) November 17, 2016
So much respect for #AlPorter for opening up. #CuttingEdge
— Rebekah Mc Loughlin (@Beckmcloughlin) November 17, 2016
#CuttingEdge just wanted to say well done al porter
— John hennessy (@jthehen1) November 16, 2016
Fair play to #AlPorter being so honest in relation to #mentalhealth https://t.co/k8kpD0YAHY
— Ms. Troy (@5j15mstroy) November 16, 2016
Well done @TheAlPorter! Can’t have been easy to talk about depression, but will hopefully help destroy that stigma. https://t.co/o6VbCOEIEQ
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) November 16, 2016
Fair Play to #AlPorter on #TheCuttingEdge tonight. Very brave and admirable thing to do.
— Eoin Mc Guigan (@Eoin_Mc_Guigan) November 16, 2016
Fair play to Al Porter sometimes you do need the medication route #cuttingedge
— Wynnner (@Wynnner) November 16, 2016
Al porter is an inspiration to all of us to speak up about mental health ????
— cathal (@owenscathal) November 16, 2016
Well done to Al Porter for sharing about anti-depressants. Should help many suffering in silence. #CuttingEdge
— Aidan Reilly (@ajpreilly) November 16, 2016
