Robbie Williams has written a moving to the daughter of a close friend, after she took her own life earlier this year.
Williams shared the post dedicated to 20-year-old Caitlin O’Reilly on his Twitter account, calling her “a beautiful girl with her whole life ahead of her” before explaining that she “tragically took her own life”.
“My friend Pete wants to try to help use this tragic event to raise awareness of the amount of young people suffering with mental health issues,” he wrote.
“I am honoured to support him in memory of Caitlin.”
“Caitlin was a very happy child, who grew up in an extremely loving family. She suffered on and off over recent years with her mental health,” her father Pete said.
“Caitlin is no longer with us but I want us all to remember her, and so many other beautiful souls across the world.
“There are so many who have sadly made a choice to end their lives, when action could have prevented it from happening. Together, we must do all we can to help those suffering and try to limit the devastation caused by suicide.
“Dealing with the aftermath of a loved-one who has made the choice to end their life is incredibly difficult. Suicide has a devastating impact on those who are left behind and are having to pick up the pieces.
“Sometimes there is no warning or explanation.”
Caitlin’s father also urged anyone struggling with mental health to seek help.
1/16 Stormzy
Stormzy told Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. “I think for them to see I went through it would help,” the BRIT-award-winning musician said. “For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it…and that’s not the case.”
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2/16 Robert Pattinson
Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “’I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do.” He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to “take care” of your mental health. “If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.”
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3/16 Michael Phelps
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, experienced periods of depression and suicidal feelings. He told Today in 2018: “After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn’t even feel it anymore…and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
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4/16 Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik told The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. “We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth,” said the former One Direction singer. “If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’
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5/16 Will Young
Singer Will Young has spoken about his experience with suicidal thoughts. “There’s a part of my brain that is telling me that you’re about to die, [so] you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed.” He said that without the help of his therapist he probably would have been successful in his suicide attempts. “I have so many mental thoughts in my head: ‘You’re never going to sing again’. ‘That was a s*** dance move.’ ‘They’re hating you.’”
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6/16 Professor Green
After his father took his own life in 2008, rapper Professor Green started speaking openly about his mental health problems and the pressure on men to be strong. “We have to figure out a way that men can talk to one another and figure out how to make themselves feel better,” he told theiNews. Although he is pleased to “start conversations” Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard.”
Rex Features
7/16 Donald Glover
American actor, comedian, writer and musician Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he’d been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. “I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point’.”
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8/16 Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes told People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the “scariest” thing he’s ever done. “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we’re all in it together.” He told The Sun in 2018: “All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand.”
Rex Features
9/16 Jim Carrey
Comedian and actor Jim Carrey told iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.”
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10/16 Pete Wentz
Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. “My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there’s other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time,” he said. “Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you’re not alone in it.”
Rex Features
11/16 Jon Hamm
“I struggled with chronic depression,” Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. “I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me.” Hamm said medication helped change his “brain chemistry” enough so he could get out of bed. “I don’t want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work,” he says.
Rex Features
12/16 Rob Delaney
Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. “Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive,” he says. “Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It’s not exaggerating to say that path can end in death.”
Rex Features
13/16 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has spoken on numerous occasions about mental health. On ITV’s Lorraine Kelly he said: “Depression doesn’t discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I’m happy to do it.”
Rex Features
14/16 Ryan Reynolds
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” the Deadpool actor told the New York Times in 2018. “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” Reynolds said he went through a period of partying to try and make himself “vanish” in some way and would frequently suffer with anxiety-related insomnia.
Rex Features
15/16 Bruce Springsteen
Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn’t describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has “come close enough” and takes medication to cope. “I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”
Rex Features
16/16 Prince Harry
Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like ‘Time To Talk’. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph: “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.” Harry said there was “huge merit” in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.
Rex Features
1/16 Stormzy
Stormzy told Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. “I think for them to see I went through it would help,” the BRIT-award-winning musician said. “For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it…and that’s not the case.”
Rex Features
2/16 Robert Pattinson
Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “’I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do.” He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to “take care” of your mental health. “If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.”
Rex Features
3/16 Michael Phelps
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, experienced periods of depression and suicidal feelings. He told Today in 2018: “After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn’t even feel it anymore…and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Rex Features
4/16 Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik told The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. “We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth,” said the former One Direction singer. “If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’
Rex Features
5/16 Will Young
Singer Will Young has spoken about his experience with suicidal thoughts. “There’s a part of my brain that is telling me that you’re about to die, [so] you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed.” He said that without the help of his therapist he probably would have been successful in his suicide attempts. “I have so many mental thoughts in my head: ‘You’re never going to sing again’. ‘That was a s*** dance move.’ ‘They’re hating you.’”
Rex Features
6/16 Professor Green
After his father took his own life in 2008, rapper Professor Green started speaking openly about his mental health problems and the pressure on men to be strong. “We have to figure out a way that men can talk to one another and figure out how to make themselves feel better,” he told theiNews. Although he is pleased to “start conversations” Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard.”
Rex Features
7/16 Donald Glover
American actor, comedian, writer and musician Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he’d been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. “I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point’.”
Rex Features
8/16 Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes told People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the “scariest” thing he’s ever done. “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we’re all in it together.” He told The Sun in 2018: “All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand.”
Rex Features
9/16 Jim Carrey
Comedian and actor Jim Carrey told iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.”
Rex Features
10/16 Pete Wentz
Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. “My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there’s other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time,” he said. “Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you’re not alone in it.”
Rex Features
11/16 Jon Hamm
“I struggled with chronic depression,” Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. “I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me.” Hamm said medication helped change his “brain chemistry” enough so he could get out of bed. “I don’t want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work,” he says.
Rex Features
12/16 Rob Delaney
Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. “Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive,” he says. “Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It’s not exaggerating to say that path can end in death.”
Rex Features
13/16 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has spoken on numerous occasions about mental health. On ITV’s Lorraine Kelly he said: “Depression doesn’t discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I’m happy to do it.”
Rex Features
14/16 Ryan Reynolds
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” the Deadpool actor told the New York Times in 2018. “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” Reynolds said he went through a period of partying to try and make himself “vanish” in some way and would frequently suffer with anxiety-related insomnia.
Rex Features
15/16 Bruce Springsteen
Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn’t describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has “come close enough” and takes medication to cope. “I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”
Rex Features
16/16 Prince Harry
Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like ‘Time To Talk’. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph: “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.” Harry said there was “huge merit” in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.
Rex Features
“Caitlin was always there for others. She spent a huge amount of time trying to help those experiencing low periods or those expressing vulnerabilities,” he said. “Caitlin’s legacy will live on if we continue the fight on her behalf to help as many of those who are suffering as we can.
“This is an extremely emotional time of year. We should all consider our own actions and help those less fortunate than us. Even if it is simply picking up the phone to check someone is doing OK.”
If you are struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
