This is a hard story to piece together, but I’ll attempt it. We’ve seen Irish singer Sinead O’Connor gradually unravel since she came back into the public eye late last year. At first she posted to her website asking for help finding a man. She eventually found one, married him within a few weeks, claimed to be divorcing him, and then gleefully tweeted that she was back with him and was screwing him. She also shared the detail that she made her new husband, a drug counselor, uncomfortable when she drove around looking for drugs on their wedding night. It was all TMI from Sinead, who admitted prior to her quickie wedding that she’d gone off her bipolar medication.
The latest in this hard-to-watch saga has Sinead overdosing on something and then asking people on Twitter for help finding a psychiatrist. Sinead called it an “overdose,” not a suicide attempt specifically, but that’s what it sounds like. She didn’t tweet about the OD, and just told British outlet The Sun about it. She plead on Twitter for names of psychiatrists in her area who could see her right away and then followed up with the news that she had some appointments scheduled and was feeling better. I’m going to include a couple of different explanations below, because I didn’t get it at first when I read this story on The Sun or when I went through her tweets.
Troubled singer Sinead O Connor overdosed on pills in the days before her plea for psychiatric help via Twitter.com on Wednesday (11Jan12).
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer has long battled mental health issues and took to the internet to tell fans she was heading for meltdown.
She pleaded with followers to give her contact details for health professionals who could provide her with therapy and get her back on her medication.
O’Connor admitted the backlash from her on/off romance to Barry Herridge, who she split from after three weeks of marriage only to reunite days later, had sparked her relapse – and now she’s revealed she took an overdose in the days leading up to the drama.
She tells Britain’s The Sun, “I took an overdose. God obviously wants me around – though I can’t think why.” The suicide bid took place in Los Angeles last Thursday (05Jan12), reports the newspaper.
O’Connor returned to Twitter on Wednesday following her call for help to thank fans for their support and revealed she is now due to receive treatment.
She wrote, “hey… wanna thank all SO much for such great help today. have a number of numbers, contacts, etc now and appointments.” – Contact Music
In a string of Twitter posts that began on Wednesday morning, Jan. 11, O’Connor told fans that she was “in serious danger” and asked, “Does anyone [sic] know a psychiatrist in Dublin or Wicklow who could urgently see me today please?” She then sent out an e-mail address and asked fans to send her recommendations, writing, “Me don’t wanna leave me kids. Or f*ck up me work. I’m sorry worrying anyone.. is just am sick and ireland shit for finding help cant think of any other way…
On Wednesday, O’Connor alluded to the emotional harm caused by an article that ran in the Irish Independent on Sunday and alleged that Herridge was counseling drug-addicted teenagers as his new bride was searching for drugs.
“The sindo article about them trying to lose barry his job and everyone being shit to him for marrying me has spun me off and I’m ill,” O’Connor wrote.
In the midst of her ongoing personal problems, O’Connor is set to release a new album, How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, on Feb. 21. A two-night residency at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever Cemetery begins on Feb. 20. – Hollywood Reporter
[From Contact Music and The Hollywood Reporter]
It took a lot of courage to ask for help on Twitter, and I’m really relieved that she got some. She’s going through some serious issues with her bipolar disease and thank goodness she’s getting help. She needed help and she reached out and got it. I hope she’s able to get just the medication she needs to manage her disease.
Sorry I have no sympathy for her.
She should get back on your meds now.
I doubt she needs help finding a head doctor as with her history she has probably got the names, addressess and telephone number of at least a dozen.
Girl, take your meds and start dialing that phone!
Yeah, I don’t think going on freaking Twitter and asking for help (really? psychiatrist recommendations from strangers?) is a good sign at all. Now, getting back in touch with the psychiatrist who diagnosed you bipolar in the first place and admitting you’re a wreak? That takes some courage.
Just because someone is on meds for bipolar disorder doesn’t mean that one won’t still experience severe mood swings or severe depression including suicide ideation. For some people it can take years to find the right combo of meds.
Not sure how it is in Ireland, but in places like Ottawa, Canada (the Nation’s Capital) it is next to impossible to find a psychiatrist who is taking new patients. Even emergency rooms are turning away suicidal people. Many people are stuck being treated by a family physican (if they can find one) with or without a single consult (one hour) from a psychiatrist. It is almost as difficult to find a family physican. Many seriously ill people are being treated by doctors at walk in clinics.
Maybe u should try some empathy.
Cosign. As an Irish descendent with relatives in Dublin I know the system is behind and the prejudices are extreme – just one more thing you don’t need when you are asking (yelling) for help.
I agree. I find it hard to have sympathy. To me it seems like there is more than just bipolar goin on.. she seems borderline. I think she wants attention… there are so many other ways to get help than on twitter for gosh sake… She should stay on her darn meds.
Please try and look into your heart, Ireland is Very Catholic, divorce and abortion was illegal until very recently, so what did that mean – girls and young women died in illegal terminations or went over the ‘border’ to England, they were shamed,shunned, unhappily married couples just messed around because divorce was unthinkable, lovely country beautiful people, unfortunately as an artist she is even more a victim of an hypocritical society. I was brought up seriously Catholic and the Vatican has a lot to answer to.
She’s mentally ill, so I just can’t dump on her. I feel so badly for her children.
CB-totally OT, but please do the story of Cami’s bolt ons! They look good, and are small, but she got a pair of boobs and a haircut.
This is very sad, for her children. She won’t leave them temporarily to seek professional help, but she will attempt suicide and leave them forever. Seriously flawed logic that has to be related to her bipolar disorder. Those poor kids will be caring for her their whole lives, when it really should be the other way around.
I thought the father’s had custody
this is not the first time she’s used suicide to reach out very publicly for “help”, sympathy or attention. I was in Ireland when Kurt Cobain’s alleged suicide attempt in Rome happened and she was suddenly all over the place trying to get attention because she had attempted suicide (and that it was Peter Gabriel’s fault and that he left her alone knowing she was drinking vodka) and it was to the point that I (who have a history of suicidal ideation and attempts when I was a teen) had no sympathy for her.
I think this is a bad case of a very sick woman who often refuses to cooperate with her mental health team or refuses help from anyone and that once she manages to get another taste of fame goes out of the way to act out and publicly announce her problems to get more attention. She seems to have periods of stability but any time she gets a little bit of media attention she starts to run out of control for as long as people will pay attention.
For her own sake and the sake of her children, people need to stop following/covering her. I honestly think it’s the only chance she has at sustained stability.
Wow, I had no idea she was linked with Peter Gabriel and that ALL of that went down. I’m glad to hear the fathers have custody of those children, as she seems in no way capable of parenting them. If she is addicted to the attention she’s receiving, as you said, I’m worried she’ll do something even more drastic if we stop paying attention to her. I hope she gets help before it gets worse. Also, sorry to hear you were in such a dark place but you sound as though you’ve gotten past whatever it was that was causing you such grief. Stay well.
wow thank you for this comment, i share many of your sentiments. and i’m surprised that somebody else remembers that. that’s not even why i grew to stop having sympathy for her, but she needs help and stop creating excuses such as, the meds make me bloat, or i’m no longer bipolar, and stop dancing around the issue and really seek help. because even if she doesn’t have the custody of her kids (i thought she did) she still needs to get it together and be a good mother to them.
That was twenty years ago.
At least she’s ok this time. Life is hard and some people can’t tolerate it as well as others. Everyone should remember that.
yes, and unless a person has been through the pain of mental illness, they have no understanding. but they could try for a little compassion, though.
So true. Thanks for pointing this out and for reminding us to be grateful to have coping skills and a more positive outlook. Not everyone is so lucky. It helps me to remember that most folks are doing the best they can most of the time.
Re my above post mental illness in Ireland is even more frowned upon than abortion or divorce. They pretend it doesn’t exist so you are just ‘crazy’ and often just put away, especially women. Why do you think she burnt the cross? A very powerful symbol, she rebelled.
Let me just say that I’am so proud of the way y’all handled this story with such class and compassion. We CBers can be a brutal bunch but this is not the time for that kind of attitude. I hope Sinead gets the help she needs.
Doesn’t she have anyone who gives a cr*p about her? She needs a handler STAT to get her back on her medication and out of view of the paparazzi.
It reminds me of the Britney situation – acting out her problems in public. Someone who cares about her needs to get things under control before something terrible happens.
Bipolar people in the full throws of their mania like drug addicts have a knack for pushing anyone who can help them out of their lives. Especially the ones that have an aversion to meds.
I do pray for her to get real help and get the *&^%$ of Twitter for godsakes.
I’m bi-polar and it takes a long time to find the right medications and the right Doctor to help you get to where you can function. Sometimes you grow resistant to the medications and then the game starts all over again. I’m lucky because right now I’m on the correct medications and stable. Hopefully she will find the right doctor and the right medications so she can get better. She needs to get away from the drugs and alcohol though, they hinder any help that the medications may have.
You’re brave to share – even somewhat anonymously – and I respect you for it. Also appreciate the insight into what Sinead and others with the illness are facing. I love her and her music and wish her well, always. You, too!
She is just so friggin gross
She is not “gross”. She’s struggling with mental health issues.
What may appear as “gross” to some has to be heartbreakingly terrifying to the poor person suffering from a serious mental illness. I can’t begin to imagine what this lady has gone through, all because her brain is working differently than most of ours. So I wish her and others like her my best in their search for happiness and health.
I gad she ask for help but on twitter where it could be any nutjod trying to use her not good and she needs to get off twitter.
What a cluster. I really hope she gets the help she so obviously needs. For her and her children’s sake
What’s all this talk about meds? Are you all psychologists? Has it been proven that she is bi-polar or is every one just guessing?
I believe she has admitted as much. Either way it sounds like she needs some sort of help. I genuinely hope she gets it.
I’m a psychologist. We don’t prescribe meds and we don’t diagnose via twitter, but yes, she does exhibit the classic symptoms. And it’s well documented via Sinéad herself that she is bipolar and medication resistant. No one is guessing anything.
ETA: She discussed her bipolar disorder on Oprah – http://www.oprah.com/health/Understanding-Bipolar-Disorder
Yes, she has admitted it and she has been dealing with it for years.
And for those who are going to jump on the term “medication resistant” it means that the meds they have tried thus far have not been successful in treating her disorder. It doesn’t mean she hasn’t been taking her meds, even though in this case she has admitted to stopping the meds (“treatment resistant”). It’s not all that uncommon in ppl. with bipolar disorder. The meds can cloud the mind, make it difficult to think, concentrate, and function and some miss their highs.
I sympathize with her issues but I wish she would go away. She hasn’t been relevant for years and yet she’s on all the celebrity gossip sites. What did she have back in the day, a couple of hits or something..
Actually, she was on VH1’s “one hit wonders” show. I thought, for sure, she had more than 1 hit (but I guess not). I think she’s had more success in Europe.
She had a lot more than a couple of hits. She was very successful not just in Europe, but in North America as well. She has much more talent than most of today’s “rising stars”.
I am glad that almost everyone on here was either supportive or else restrained on this topic. Sinead is in a bad way right now and there’s no justifying putting out bad words or bad vibes to people suffering like this. I truly hope that she reconsiders her “no bipolar meds” stance long-term and gets on them, they work, and she stays on them. I understand that it’s still a complex disorder but at least she seems to be heading in the right direction. Suicide is not the best direction. So awfully glad that she didn’t die.
And note to Cathy: thanks for sharing with us. That’s gotta be a tough row to hoe. Glad you’re doing well with it at this time.
I hope she gets the proper help she needs, she deserves to live a normal life.
I love this woman’s music – I stay out of her personal life. She has the voice of an angel.
Sinead is an icon here in Ireland, she had a terribly abusive childhood and has suffered as a result. This may be a gossip site but it is great to see some compassion and decency and understanding displayed by many. Those who think it is ok to call someone troubled and vulnerable should remember that mental health issues affect 1 in 3 people at some stage of their life. Kindness is not a dirty word. She isn’t attention seeking for album sales, she had a cult following and mainstream isn’t her agenda, she is attention seeking fir help, love and support.
It would be cool for Sinead to do some work with Susan Boyle.
I hope she gets the help she needs. It disturbs me to see her in trouble. Does she not have any family aside from her children?
Many people have little patience or empathy for those who are mentally ill. The same goes for some families. It isn’t that different from addiction, some families are supportive and some not, even if it means their loved ones end up on the street or dead.
just let her already …
That’s a nasty thing to say.
Yes Lori, very nasty indeed.
For the love of God, is there NO ONE close to her who can help her??? This is beyond sad.
I think DDL stays in Dublin or Wicklow, no? And Sinead dated DDL sometime in the ’90s? Random coincidence. Hope she feels better.
Who is DDL?
Daniel Day-Lewis
Her husband is not helping her? I would have thought he would be the ideal person to support her. Even if they are “off” (or are they on? Hard to keep up).
i always feel sad when i see sinead. such a troubled person whose tendency to act out publicly overshadows her beautiful, unearthly voice. “the lion & the cobra” is a gorgeous album and anyone who doesn’t know how sinead used to sound should go listen to it right now.
I so agree kate! Sinead is a rare and special talent – her singing, her songwriting, her depth as an artist. Makes me so sad to see her in this state. Hopefully somebody close to her will take action to help her… she clearly isn’t able to take proper care of herself right now.
Poor woman. It is so difficult to go through what she’s going through. I am glad she was able to reach out through twitter. I hope she finds the help she needs.
she hasn’t changed a bit since the 90’s. still blaming her faults on others and faking suicides. she did this before but people who haven’t followed her may not know. anything for attention. yes she needs help but she is easily rich enough to afford any therapy she wants, why ask for doctors on twitter and not through your personal circle? it’s sad that she came to this. if you love being famous so much, why cause controversy so much that you lose it? oh and she used to accuse u2 of various things to get headlines for herself, as the edge said. but they continued to be her fan and friend, just accepting the crazy as is i suppose. it’s also sad that she has many people who love and accept her as she is but she still feels lonely and starves for attention.
With all due respect u are a FOOL. U obviously know nothing about bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a medical illness not a personality flaw. Meds don’t work for everyone (thus the term “medication resistant”), and even if they do they can stop working as the body builds tolerance. Nobody attempts suicide for attention. While the details of her health would be better kept private her tweets are cries for help. Maybe u should do some reading before making such ignorant comments.
no respect, you’re a god damn MORON. i’ve known 4 people close to me who are diagnosed as bipolar. i meant that she was looking for attention on twitter. if you had been able to read my response with some basic level of comprehending you’d understand that. and she’s pulled this shit before, i used to be a long time fan before i was disgusted by some questionable things she did (nothing to do with the pope) so i know. read up on ol cranky’s post above, for example. and yes some people attempt suicide, or lie about it to get attention. one of the bipolar people i knew did that and admitted it later. suck it, stfu and gtfo
Whatevs,
I’m not going to argue with someone who is so ignorant they can’t have a conversation without lashing out and swearing, except to say, u obviously don’t work in the field, and u don’t know what the hell u are talking about. Knowing four people who are bipolar doesn’t make u an expert. Grow up, and get a personality.
Vesper, I won’t argue with a completely ignorant belligerent cunt such as yourself. I am kind enough to listen to whatever opinion usually but you lashed out on me first calling me ignorant and a fool with capital letters now don’t act like i started it when i only defended myself, you hypocritical foolish ignorant god damn bitch. yes i have every right to be angry as you have no idea about what my background with bipolar is. you are incapable of understanding what i wrote, and just because you presumably witnessed some ignorant judgement of bipolar people in the past, you thought i was doing the same thing, and attacked me out of nowhere. i am not an ignorant person at all, i have always been an avid bookworm, and researched mental illnesses for a long time, as i said because many people close to me suffered from them. why would i even attack a person for having any sort of illness, let alone bipolar? did it ever occur to your peabrain that maybe i have been following o’connor’s antics since the late 80’s and am clearly referring to her seeking attention on twitter. whatever just act like i have been lashing out for no reason, whatever makes you happy in your little self righteous world ignorant foolish bitch. yeah right god ahead an argue with me, see if i care, like i would care about anything coming from self righteous, reading-impaired, low intelligence, personality and character lacking, preaching idiots such as yourself. go ahead argue some more….
I’m so glad she got help!
My guy is bi-polar, and went through five or six years of medications to find the right combination. Now he takes lithium three times a day and nothing else, and he’s been stable for years. He doesn’t do drugs or drink, and he eats healthy and manages his stress levels. It’s more than just medication. It’s creating a lifestyle where you’re managing your bipolar disorder and any triggering factors.
I feel awful for her, because many bipolar patients do much better when they are in stable relationships. Having someone who lives with you and can provide an outside evaluation of how you are doing can be invaluable. I’m sorry her marriage didn’t work out, because it sounded like that guy could have been great for her in the long term.
I dated and then lived with a guy who was bi-polar. When we met he was so energetic and was sure he could rule the world. He was so charismatic that I believed it, too. During the five years we lived together I went through the ups and the downs. And when he was at the highest level of mania…oh Lord…I can’t even put into words what I went through. He would take his meds until he felt better and then he “didn’t need them” anymore. I did what I could to protect him. I crushed his anti-psychotic meds and put them in “energy shakes” each morning. I never knew what man would be at home when I got home from work. One evening he told me he was going to sacrifice me to the Gods because he was “told” to do it. Had he not messed up locking me upstairs while he went to the basement for the knife, I might not be writing this tonight. I escaped and then got him put into a mental hospital for 72 hours. I went thru that twice. It was the Alliance for the Mentally Ill that gave me advice and saved my own sanity. I knew I had to make a change. I hated to do it. I felt guilty for doing it but I had to leave him.
Mental illness is a sickness of the brain and it should not be treated any differently than an illness of the kidney, heart or any other organ. We must rid ourselves of the stigma. And we should support the Alliance for the Mentally Ill. They do good work…for both the person with the illness and for those in the family or those who love them. My heart goes out to Sinead and those who love her. She needs support, not ignorance. It is not an easy road she must travel….nor is it easy for her loved ones….but travel it she must. Suicide is never the answer.
This isn’t going to end well for her unless someone close in her circle intervenes. She needs serious help,
probably some type of hospitalization/
rehab.
I’ve read her blog going back a bit, and like I mentioned before, O’Connor had her life under control a few years back. She was on meds that worked for her, she was singing regularly again, and she was settled near here in Bray doing very well. When she went to publicly endorse some of her work, the press dogpiled her for being fat. She was not obese. She was larger than the wisp of a girl she had been in the 80’s, and her meds and condition had aged her. The public stoning for the crime of no longer possessing marketable beauty bothered her a LOT. It went on and on. Every time someone photographed her, a new avalanche of “fatty” and “what happened to her” came down on her head. She was doing well. She was level. She was living a normal and productive life. She was getting back to her creative work. Her voice is a special gift, and what “happened” to her is a lifetime battle with mental illness and 30 years of normal aging. Even here, people were more focused on how “fat” she’d gotten than the fact she was clearly unstable. Now, all of a sudden, everyone’s “sick” of her and criticizing her for going off her meds. She can’t win.
i feel like a lot of this is for attention. sorry, not sorry.
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