Health Briefing

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

Teenagers advised to be open about their sexuality

CORK HURLING star Donal Óg Cusack has advised hundreds of schoolgoers at a mental health conference to be open with their friends if they are having issues relating to their sexuality.

The two-time All Star hurler with three All Ireland medals revealed his sexual orientation in his autobiography, Come What May, which was published last year.

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However, the Cork hurler first revealed his sexuality to his parents in 2005, when he flew home from South Africa after his family heard reports that he was gay.

Speaking at a Cork Mental Health Foundation conference last week, the 33-year-old goalkeeper urged teenagers to talk to their friends about their sexuality.

“Talk to people. I was afraid to talk to people in the early days, but I can guarantee, and this is the truth, that there was no adverse reaction from any of the friends I talked to. If anything, our friendships became stronger.”

He told the conference that his bond with team-mates, friends and family had become stronger since his revelations about his sexuality.

“If I’m honest, I hadn’t always been comfortable with my sexuality. In the early days I was worried about what people would think.

“Going into dressing rooms, I was worried in case it became an issue. But I will say this to anybody who is confused – don’t worry about it, because everything will work out in the end.”

Dónal Óg Cusack’s autobiography won the Williamhill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year for 2009.

Adult mental illness often rooted in teen years

HALF OF adults with a history of mental illness had clear signs of being in crisis when they were 15 years old, according to the self-help organisation Grow.

A free booklet written by young people for young people with mental health issues was launched by the organisation yesterday. The booklet, You Can Do It . . . But You Can’t Do It Alone, can be downloaded from the Grow website (grow.ie).

“The evidence shows that early action and help is overwhelmingly more effective than leaving problems to grow,” the organisation says.

Grow has weekly support groups throughout the country for adults and young people. The stories have been written by young adults attending the groups.

The aim of the booklet is to promote the letsomeoneknow.ie awareness campaign and to reduce the stigma associated with suicidal behaviour and mental distress in young adults. It also aims to promote the benefit of support groups for people with mental health problems.

“The stigma of suffering from a mental health problem was a huge issue for me,” writes one young man, Anthony, who tried to take his own life.

“Over time, as I began to accept myself, the stigma faded. I believe that taking control of my own recovery and improving my personal value helped me a great deal with this issue.”

Anthony suggests that young people who are nervous of visiting the doctor for the first time about a mental health issue might bring a trusted friend along for moral support.

Living with planes is risk for the heart

LIVING WITH airplanes thundering over your head could put your heart at risk, according to Swiss research. After studying 4.6 million adults, researchers found that dying from a heart attack was more common among people with increased exposure to aircraft noise.

“The effect was especially evident for people who were exposed to really high levels of noise, and was dependent on how long those people had lived in the noisy place,” University of Bern researcher Matthias Egger said.