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Greg O’Shea reveals dark thoughts pushed him to seek help during secret mental health battle

Greg O’Shea has revealed he secretly struggled with his mental health after Love Island, which got “overwhelming” at one stage.

The 27-year-old shot to fame when he won the popular dating show with Amber Gill in 2019, but returned to life as a professional rugby player once he left the villa.

Greg went on to represent Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics as part of the Irish rugby sevens team last year, but months later, the Limerick native announced his retirement from the sport.

After this, Greg’s mental health plummeted as he found himself alone in London with no career prospects.

Speaking on Doireann Garrihy’s The Laughs Of Your Life podcast, Greg recalled: “I remember one time I was back in Dublin and I was driving around and it got really, really bad.”

“It got overwhelming at one stage, I was behind the wheel of the car and I was like, ‘alright this is going one of two ways’.

“I don’t want to get too dark on the podcast but it was basically a decision of, alright, either this is all over, or bring yourself to the doctor right now. And thank God I did, I drove myself to the doctor and I said ‘I need to speak to someone right now’.

 

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A post shared by Doireann Garrihy (@doireanngarrihy)

“They helped me thank God. And not getting into too much detail but I had to go on pretty heavy medication and that didn’t even work, they had to double the medication and it get really, really bad for a few months,” Greg explained.

“All this time no one knew, my best friend who I live with didn’t know. I told my mom but no one else knew.”

An emotional Greg said he eventually came to the realisation that nobody was going to change his life but him, and recalled being inspired by Doireann’s life motto that ‘no one gives a f**k about you’.

The Limerick native recalled: “I sat down with a piece of paper and a pen and I started writing down the things I cared about, my family, my friends, fitness, presenting…”

“I decided those were my pillars, I’m going to surround myself with my family and friends, I’m going to try my best to do some presenting and hosting, and I’m also going to create a fitness app… and I’m just going to go hell for leather.”

“I literally started ringing people and was like ‘give me a shot, any chance’. One or two started cracking the door open for me and I just burst through it…”

 

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A post shared by Greg O’Shea (@gregoshea)

Greg said “eventually the work started coming through”, and earlier this year he made the conscious decision to take himself off the medication he was put on.

“I got them and threw them in the bin and I just went for it,” he added.

Greg’s full interview on The Laughs Of Your Life will be released on Monday, September 26.

If you have been affected by anything in this article, please visit www.pieta.ie or call 1800 247 247.

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