In an emotional 10-minute video posted to her Facebook page on Thursday night, O’Connor said that she was feeling suicidal in the motel, in the “arse end” of New Jersey, with nobody in her life except her psychiatrist.
“Mental illness, you know, it’s a bit like drugs, it doesn’t give a “sh*t” who you are,” she says in the clip. What’s worse, she added, is the stigma. She talks about being isolated from her family, being sad, and being “one of millions” who suffer from mental illness.
“My entire life is revolving around just not dying and that’s not living,” O’Connor says in the video, adding that she was coping with kidney stones. She said the only difference between herself and homeless people is that she has an apartment. “But I don’t anymore,” she adds, addressing her children, saying it shouldn’t be acceptable that she is living in a motel (in again — in her words — the “arse end” of New Jersey).
Sinead O’Connor’s tearful video and sad stay in gritty N.J. motel“I don’t want to die, I want to stay alive, I’ve got children,” O’Connor says.
That, the singer says, is the reason why she has not killed herself.
“I can talk to strangers on Facebook who are kinder to me than my own loved ones,” she says.
O’Connor ends by making a plea for people to visit their family members who are mentally ill and to visit people at their local psychiatric hospital.
“I’m one of millions, one of f**king millions,” she says.
Getting the word out
The “Supporting Sinead O’Connor” Facebook page was among the first to notice O’Connor had tweeted out an address — the location of the South Hackensack Travelodge where she was staying, keeping fans updated with any new word about her whereabouts.
A plea from Annie Lennox
Singer Annie Lennox, formerly half of the Eurythmics, responded to the video, which she called “distressing,” by issuing an open Facebook call for friends and family to come to O’Connor’s aid.
Hang on
Actress Rose McGowan pleaded with O’Connor and others to “hang on,” and was among various celebrities to post about supporting the singer.
A hero
In her video, O’Connor lamented that the only thing keeping her going, besides her children, was her psychiatrist, who considered her a personal hero of his. In response, fans, including the band Garbage, chimed in with how they considered her a hero, too.
Sharmayne was among the readers who expressed their support for the singer after NJ.com visited the Travelodge where a car that is believed to belong to O’Connor is still parked:
My heart goes out to Ms. O’Connor. (I have been a fan; she broke my heart with “Nothing Compares to U,” a song written by Prince.) I hope that she is receiving the care that she needs. I would not wish mental illness on anyone. But with consistent treatment there is hope. She made a cry for help because a part of her may have been fearful of what she might do to herself.
Support for a feminist
Nancy Jo Sales, author of “American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers,” garnered likes from “Girls” creator Lena Dunham and hundreds of others for her comment on O’Connor’s commitment to feminism and willingness to confront the Catholic Church.
Others said O’Connor’s message proved the need for more support for artists in general and all people who cope with mental illness.
Source:-nj
