Doug Leddin has been living with depression for 10 years. Now, after a decade of suffering in silence, he's decided it's time to speak out.
Leddin, from Dublin, recently shared his story in a powerful video on Facebook.
In the clip, featured below, he says: "If you asked my family and friends what they thought about me they'd probably tell you I'm a happy-go-lucky, positive, hard working and confident guy. But all that's a bit of a lie.
"I'm living a completely different life inside. I'm living the life of someone who suffers immensely with depression."
In the video, which was viewed more than 800,000 times within two days of being uploaded to Facebook, Leddin says mental health is hard for him to talk about.
"But it's not just me. It's impossible for millions of other people to talk about it - and that's the problem," he says.
Leddin hopes that by sharing his story, he will inspire other people to speak up about their mental health and reach out to their friends and family for help.
He accompanied his video with a heartfelt status, which we've copied below:
"It's not often I post something too serious on social media and I'm not sure this is the right thing to do and to be honest I'm nervous as hell writing this status but I hope it helps others and I hope you can share this if you think it will help someone.
"There is something I have wanted to get off my chest for a long time, 10 years in fact. This will come as a surprise to some of my closest friends who I just couldn't talk to for fear of losing them or not being accepted.
"But after a lot of thought and consideration I decided to make a video to lift this burden off my shoulders and to share my experiences with you.
"I'm talking about depression and it's something we all need to talk more about, for too long people have suffered in silence and it's not right and as hard as it is to talk about it, it genuinely does help. I'm not saying that by opening up to your friends, family, colleagues or even teammates that it will make everything ok, but it will certainly help.
"To my best friends I have to say sorry, sorry for not having the courage to do this sooner.
"To my family, thank you for the support over the past 10 years.
"I'm now 27 and in a much better place in my life. I have spent years in and out of doctors...and various other places getting help since the age of 16. It was a dark place and I suffered alone and I shouldn't have. The past year has been much better and I'm thankfully in a place now that I feel comfortable sharing this. And although I wish it didn't take me this long to open up, it did, and I cant change that. But hopefully I can encourage a few others to do the same.
"I suppose the reason I'm doing this is to try [and] encourage others to speak about their mental health issues with family, friends or even organisations.
"If you think this could help someone please feel free to share it. Together we can beat the stigma associated with mental health, an issue that is on the rise with people of our generation.
"Just remember you are not alone."
Leddin finished the post with a list of services dedicated to helping people with mental health issues in Ireland, including Console Ireland, Pieta House, Preventing Suicide and Self Harm, SpunOut.ie, Aware, Reach Out Ireland, Samaritans Ireland and A Lust For Life.
If you're looking for support in the UK, we've listed some organisations you may find useful below:
Mind - open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
Samaritans - open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
Get Connected - a free advice service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@getconnected.org.uk
