AN co down The man has said that surviving two suicide attempts allowed him to reach out and help others avoid their darkest moments.
Paddy Cordell tried to take his own life twice at the age of 18, but it’s been years promote and teach good mental health practices to those in the Kilkeel community and beyond.
Paddy, now 35, said at one point in her life that she “fought every day to keep suicidal thoughts out of my head.”
Read more: Belfast teen turns life around after hitting rock bottom with prescription drugs and alcohol
speaking to belfast live During Mental Health Awareness Week, Paddy spoke about how his early life struggles led him to find fulfillment in helping others.
“Actually, from the age of 14, I had six to 10 panic attacks every day and the nightly ones got progressively worse.
“That’s the time most people are alone with thoughts, and if you’re not comfortable with that, it makes it that much harder.”
“From the age of 14 I realized that drinking alcohol helped me sleep.”
Between the ages of 16 and 18, Paddy said he had dropped out of school and was earning enough money to be able to drink every day.
His mental state worsened and he said things came to a head in 2005.
“The area where we are standing now is such a beautiful place, we are here in the harbor and we have the sea and the mountains up there,” he said.
“But at the time, it was so suffocating that I felt like it was the end of the world for me and the world was closing in around me.
“Then several of my friends took their own lives through suicide, so the world seemed to close in on me very quickly.
“I felt like there was no other way out, so I was sitting in the pub one night and I went myself and tried to take my own life.”
Fortunately, the police found Paddy and he was taken to hospital, but feeling he wasn’t getting the support he needed, two months later he tried to take his own life again.
Again, they found him, and this time, a phone call offering support led him to get help through therapy.
He also said that quitting alcohol allowed him to get a clearer picture of his state of mind.
“It was a struggle, I’m not going to say it was easy, it was a struggle even for the first three months to stay alive,” he added.
“It was just fighting every day to keep suicidal thoughts out of my head all the time.
“But as time went on over the next two years, I started to progress and socialize a bit more.
“So after two years of therapy, I took a year off to try to deal with the world as it is and not as I thought it should be.
“That’s the whole misconception, we’re trying to create this world around us that’s perfect and it’s just not there, we have to learn to deal with the hard times that come and accept them.”
In a better state with therapy under her belt, Paddy undertook Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and studied positive psychology.
Now he uses that training to talk to young people in schools and at The Well Community Center in Kilkeel.
He said teaching children from a young age that they are in charge of how they feel and how to deal with their emotions was crucial to creating a better mental health picture.
“Whenever you’re in school, that seems to be the hardest time for kids,” she said.
“Especially when they’re sitting for exams and there’s so much pressure on them and I think that’s where a lot of problems develop.
“If we can get in and we can control and choose positive thoughts and thoughts and instill this from a young age, then it becomes a habit.”
Paddy said she hoped her story would encourage more people to open up about their emotional and mental well-being and take steps toward a healthier perspective.
“I’m proud of the person I’ve become from that, I’ve definitely become a better person from that experience,” he said.
“My message would absolutely be to reach anyone, your strength is to reach out and talk to people.
“It’s not about hiding it, we’re not tough or strong in containing things.
“Our strength comes from talking to people, getting rid of those emotions, or accepting them and feeling them and then we can grow from them.
“It’s okay to feel down about something, as long as you talk to someone about how you feel.”
If you or someone you know is in distress or despair, call the free 24/7 Lifeline crisis helpline on 0808 808 8000.
Video of Belfast Live cameraman Harry Bateman.
Read more: ‘Open your eyes’: a Belfast mother’s message to Stormont after losing her son to suicide
Read more: Co Down men who have lost loved ones to suicide on fundraising mission
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