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Man Who Tweeted Saying He Was 'Not OK' Receives Over 100,000 Replies

Man Who Tweeted Saying He Was 'Not OK' Receives Over 100,000 Replies

He is now encouraging others to speak out if they're struggling

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A dad who admitted to 'feeling rock bottom' during lockdown has been flooded with messages of support.

Last week, unemployed Edmund O'Leary, 51, posted on Twitter to say: "I am not OK. Feeling rock bottom. Please take a few seconds to say hello if you see this tweet. Thank you."

He has since received more than 100,000 comments and 300,000 likes.

Edmund, from Epsom in Surrey, has been out of work for 18 months. He was previously working as a mental health worker, having also had jobs in sales, travel and television engineering.

Appearing on ITV's This Morning he opened up about what prompted his post, saying: "On Friday I was feeling very depressed and isolated and I have a Twitter friend who writes similar things. I thought if it worked for him it could work for me.

"The phenomenal response is a lot about timing, it was daytime in America and a lot of people were sick and tired of all the bad news on Twitter.

"I will keep in touch with some of these people, I would need to employ staff to reply to every tweet."

Amongst the thousands of replies were responses from journalists, mental health campaigners and actors, all wishing Edmund well.

In an interview with The Sunday Times he said he wanted to 'be honest' on social media about how he was feeling.

"Most days are really rubbish," he said. "And yesterday was another day I was feeling really low. I thought: 'I'm going to be honest.'''

He added: "This year has been absolutely horrendous. My mental health has really taken a battering.

"I live on my own, I'm divorced, I don't have much family support."

ITV

Edmund had been hoping to see his son Patrick, 22, graduate with a first from university and take his other son Connor to Dublin to start his PhD, but couldn't do either because of the pandemic.

He told ITV: "Suffering with depression during normal times is one thing. But to end up suffering with depression during a global pandemic, where there is little good news, is devastating."

Edmund is now encouraging other people in a similar situation reach out if they need help or support.

He told This Morning: "I've had many men reply to me and say they couldn't do what I did.

"They called me courageous and were applauding me. I would say to men try to reach out for help and don't feel alone.

"I think we are in for a pretty awful winter, by all accounts. Reach out for help, reach out to loved ones, and seek medical help if necessary."

UOKM8? is a campaign by LADbible, featuring films and stories that provide advice and inspiration on mental health. Explore more here and don't suffer in silence. Let's talk mental health.

MIND: 0300 123 3393.

Samaritans: 116 123.

CALM: Outside London 0808 802 5858, inside London 0800 58 58 58.

Featured Image Credit: ITV

Topics: Mental Health, UK