42 Comments

• Larry777 | Apr 24, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT

  Shalom, That's what she gets for making fun of the pope! She should pray to John Paul II & ask his forgiveness for tearing up his picture! Then she can become a Born Again Virgin & start all over. What goes around comes around! Ying & Yang & all that Yap. Yo mon, this weed is doing my head in! Got any coke? Things go better with Coke! Yeah mon! Right on!

• Larry777 | Apr 24, 2012, 02:45 PM EDT

  DR. THOMAS SZASZ ON THE MYTH OF MENTAL ILLNESS “Thomas Szasz (born April 15, 1920 in Budapest, Hungary) is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a prominent figure in the antipsychiatry movement, a well-known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social control aims of medicine in modern society, as well as of scientism, a term first used by social scientists Karl Popper and Friedrich Hayek. He is well known for his books, The Myth of Mental Illness (1960) and The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement (1970) which set out some of the arguments with which he is most associated.” Szasz, although a psychiatrist, had a disdain for the growing spirit of his own profession. He saw the term “mental illness” being used as a political tool, a way to stigmatize others and inhibit their freedoms: a truth that has probably existed ever since the birth of human thought. In 1973, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. Some great Thomas Szasz quotes: “It is easier to do one’s duty to others than to one’s self. If you do your duty to others, you are considered reliable. If you do your duty to yourself, you are considered selfish. ” “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” “Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.” “If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.”

• ciarrai | Apr 24, 2012, 10:31 AM EDT

  Take the lithium carbonate, Sinead. It works for me.

• Murph46 | Apr 24, 2012, 07:44 AM EDT

  Major problem with Bi-polars is the medicine,they get on it,take it ,begin too feel good and stop taking it,This is a terrible issue with the three that I personally know.It creates a real roller coaster ride for the patient and could explain much of Sineads ups and downs(add drugs to it and it is almost lethal).Comments made about her are highly mean spirited by many here,I ask you one simple question-what if she were your daughter?

• IrelandNorth | Apr 24, 2012, 05:34 AM EDT

  hermiTalker! Study done in US years ago which proved that patients prayed for actually deteriorated. Guess it depends upon the spiritual quality of the prayors? Trouble with bipolar is that one minute yer up, the next yer down. Cancelling tours when your down that you may be up for is counterproductive. Thought medication moderated emotional pendulum swing? Shrinks don't do the talking cure, Sinead (phon/pron: Shin-aid!). Psychospiritual counselling, Sinead. Meditation over medication every time.

• dingle999 | Apr 24, 2012, 12:28 AM EDT

  mandrake sick comment from you...

• mandrake | Apr 23, 2012, 10:54 PM EDT

  Woodman, that shiny head and keeping it so. She'll just keep shoving it up some poor sod's ass. That's how she gets the whine in her voice.

• Mousemess | Apr 23, 2012, 10:37 PM EDT

  Mental illness can be a life-damaging torture and torment for the person with it. A person can lose friends, family, spouse, house and job over it. It can severely damage one's ability to earn a good living. At least Sinead is aware of her condition and is doing what she feels she needs to do to live her life in a way that is less stressful and hurtful for her. She deserves some compassion regardless of what one thinks of her as a musical performer.

• Mousemess | Apr 23, 2012, 10:18 PM EDT

  Larry777, I know of at 1 person with bi-polar condition. He is a guy with huge amounts of pent up nervous energy and who is often on edge, snappy and very anxious. His moods swings are like manic and aggressive one way and depressed, deeply moody and extremely anxious another way. That, Larry, is bi-polar made up of part manic and part depressed. His disorder I read could be marked by not sleeping well at night, impulsive and senseless gift etc. buying splurges, flying off the handle too quickly,etc. He has all of those traits and he has been diagnosed as bi-polar. He is forever enxious about if some woman he buys these gifts for loves him or not and will wake up a friend of mine all hours of the night on the phone to ask him if he thinks this woman loves him. This man has only one friend (who understands his illness and calmly tolerates him) but no-one else including his family wants anything to do with him. His road rage lands him in trouble with the police from time to time. This is a portrait of someone with untreated bi-polar illness, Larry, it's real and not made up. This handsome guy should be enjoying life with friends, family and maybe a soul mate, but he is forever tortured and tormented by his illness. Few love him and few can stand to be around him because his illness can be scary for a lot of people to witness. He is a very smart and a very capable man, but he can't hold a job for long because of his illness. Please get informed about this condition, because it does exist and it destroys people's lives in many ways.

• Murph46 | Apr 23, 2012, 08:21 PM EDT

  Larry777 Would you say Bi-Polar isn't true-I know of 3 people with the affliction and as I said I would not wish it on my worse enemy.Make fun of her at your risk.

• Woodman | Apr 23, 2012, 08:04 PM EDT

  She can't just quit, how will she keep her head shined up?

• Larry777 | Apr 23, 2012, 04:31 PM EDT

  Shalom, Let's get this straight! Bi-polar was INVENTED by psychiatric head bangers & the drug companies! Its a cop-out for anything & everything you can think of! Between the legal & illegal drugs this woman is swallowing, is it any wonder she can't perform. ALSO her little problem of not being able to hold on to a husband makes things a little hard. Could you ask John Waters to do a piece "SIN-AID"? I for one would like to read it!

• Larry777 | Apr 23, 2012, 04:28 PM EDT

  I thought she had quit 20 years ago. More likely she's realized that showbiz has quit her.

• maryosullivan | Apr 23, 2012, 03:47 PM EDT

  Timmy45 and others. if you don't like to pass comment who is forcing you. Perhaps you and stevenstar should push old ladies in wheelchairs into the traffic, you would have much more fun. Get a grip on yourselves, clowns

• bunkerisland | Apr 23, 2012, 03:38 PM EDT

  The complexities of mental illness when contained in the soul of a public figure get played out for all of us to see, hear and judge. The media seems to thrive on making it a public display.

• NYCFiredog | Apr 23, 2012, 03:23 PM EDT

  Thank God she's getting help. As someone who's worked Psych for years it was plainly evident she's dealing with Bi Polar disorder. Many very talented people suffer from it, some more severe than others, such as Charlie Sheen. I hope she continues her road to healing and stays on her meds.

• Mo Rage | Apr 23, 2012, 02:49 PM EDT

  Sinead O'Connor, folks, has been vindicated SO MANY TIMES, over and over, for her protest of the pope, at the time, and the Catholic Church, for the ways they've violated children, again, time and time again, across the entire world that anyone still holding a grudge against her must be a seious apologist for that same Catholic Church and an enabler, to boot. Sad. Mo Rage, the blog.

• mayoman | Apr 23, 2012, 02:03 PM EDT

  Dingle999: Just for the record, I agree with you. I've always liked Sinead's music. The negative rhetorical comment asking if she a music career was not made by me. Indeed this is not the the first time that Irish Central has erred and attributed a comment to me.

• hermitTalker | Apr 23, 2012, 01:52 PM EDT

  so sad she can enjoy her successes as mother and talented singer and take time to undo the harm she did to herself and the family, her nation and the Church into which she was baptised. lots of people have prayed for her and had more sympathy for her than the scandal and hate she spewed. Most geniuses are bi-polar.

• hybernia | Apr 23, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT

  Loved her music, Please show a bit of compassion. Remember the saying "Never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes"

• timmy45 | Apr 23, 2012, 01:11 PM EDT

  this woman is nothing but a publicity seeker grinning her way around the World in her vain attempt to remain in the Public Eye , i do not like to pass comment on persons that may be subject to a mental condition no matter what the condition may or may not be , BUT , she has got her publicity as can be seen in this story in Irish Central & that's the name of HER GAME .

• faberm1 | Apr 23, 2012, 12:20 PM EDT

  @Mousemess Maith raite! Ach, creidím gur fearr an t-slainte ná tainte i gconaí. Aontaim leat go bhfaighfaidh sí post nua mar is mian léi. Well said, but I believe health is always better than wealth. I agree and hope with you that she might find a job that pleases her.

• STEVENSTAR | Apr 23, 2012, 12:19 PM EDT

  BI POLAR ?? MORE LIKE THE WOMAN IS A NUT JOB ... AND NOT POPULAR OVER HERE IN IRELAND ..

• DrTrelawney | Apr 23, 2012, 12:12 PM EDT

  I'm not sure "admits she is bi-polar" is the right sort of language. It's not an "admission". There is -- or should be -- no shame attached.

• Mousemess | Apr 23, 2012, 12:08 PM EDT

  Ta meas mor agam uirthi agus guim an t-slainte is fearr di chomh maith. Uaireanta, is fearr an t-slainte na an tainte, afach, ta suil agam go bhfaighidh si jab deas aoibhinn mar is mian lei. I have much respect for her and I wish the best health for her as well. Sometimes, health is better than wealth; however, I hope that she will find a convenient and pleasant job as she pleases. ("deas" in the sense of close by, convenient, etc)

• howareya | Apr 23, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT

  I agree with LacarourSeanB! We should pray for this poor woman whether she wants it or not. She definitely needs it as well as a bit of compassion. She has a great talent but her mental illness overshadowed it. She did have a rough beginning. Not a fan of her attitudes but love her voice!

• Murph46 | Apr 23, 2012, 11:25 AM EDT

  You know folks,that Irish pleasant personality doesn't show here much,I wouldn't wish her Bipolarity on my worst enemy ,but a lot of the comments here are making me rethink my views of the Irish.Give her a break ,and pray her afflictions never touch you or yours!

• malahide | Apr 23, 2012, 11:18 AM EDT

  Guys, You gotta admit that there was a lot of soul in her music

• Bythebay | Apr 23, 2012, 11:03 AM EDT

  LacarourSeanB, she would be highly offended at such a gesture.

• LacarourSeanB | Apr 23, 2012, 10:58 AM EDT

  Poor woman. Anyone here think about praying for her? We should.

• IowaMike | Apr 23, 2012, 10:48 AM EDT

  This woman is clearly and demonstrably mentally ill. Unless someone intervenes she will go the way of Whitney Houston. I'm no fan of this woman but what is happening is tragic and her friends and associates need to act.

• RedBranch | Apr 23, 2012, 10:33 AM EDT

  Wasn't there a tornado off Bray a week ago?

• sunspotter5 | Apr 23, 2012, 10:30 AM EDT

  See you next week.

• irishpjk | Apr 23, 2012, 10:27 AM EDT

  Thank God, now that she is back to the nobody she was you don't need to mention her again

• sorxia02144 | Apr 23, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

  Oh no! Not again!?!?!

• dingle999 | Apr 23, 2012, 10:16 AM EDT

  mayoman do you hate her for tearing up the picture of the Pope on American TV etc . The fact is she had amazing talent and if you had any knowledge of Irish music in the last 20 years you would know that.

• mayoman | Apr 23, 2012, 10:03 AM EDT

  Stay tuned. Next week it will be a different story. A tour, a new CD. And perhaps another new husband.

• mayoman | Apr 23, 2012, 09:58 AM EDT

  She had a music career?

• Bythebay | Apr 23, 2012, 09:51 AM EDT

  Her voice was well overshadowed by her bizarre behavior.

• dingle999 | Apr 23, 2012, 09:46 AM EDT

  Hey Walter3ca , she had an amazing voice..

• Murph46 | Apr 23, 2012, 09:45 AM EDT

  What a troubled soul,if you have not heard her sing Foggy Dew with the Chieftans,you have missed an absolute Irish treasure.Sorry it ends this way!

• walter3ca | Apr 23, 2012, 09:35 AM EDT

  Too bad that she didn't quit about 30 years ago.