![\"Majella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bdba0269-5c61-416d-912d-2dfd094ef580.jpg\")
<\/p>\nO\u2019Donnell was speaking before tonight\u2019s episode of RT\u00c9 show High Road, Low Road during which she and husband Daniel travel to the city of Zadar in Croatia.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell (65) has suffered with depression since her late teens and has been on anti-depressant medication since her mid-30s.<\/p>\n
Although managing to keep the illness at bay and normally able to get herself \u201cout of a rut\u201d, all semblance of a functional lifestyle dissolved in 2024 when depression reared its head again.<\/p>\n
Returning her to \u201cthat dark old place\u201d that she could not escape, O\u2019Donnell said that she could not see a way out of it.<\/p>\n
“I just felt I’ve had enough of this. I can’t do this any more. I really can’t. I’m just tired of it,\u201d she said on the Oliver Callan show on RT\u00c9 Radio 1.<\/p>\n
It was after this decline in her mental health that she was referred to a psychiatric hospital by her GP, which she said \u201cstraightened\u201d her out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Majella O\u2019Donnell with her husband Daniel. Photo: Mark Condren<\/p>\n
News in 90 seconds, Tuesday January 20<\/p>\n
“They changed all my medication. Obviously, you do a lot of therapy, and you go to mind development things that you do, and all sorts of things when you’re in there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very good, but I was completely burnt out when I went in. I mean, I don’t think I spoke to Daniel or my daughter or anybody for about five weeks when I went in. I could not even talk because I had nothing to say at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that, upon entry into the hospital for psychiatric treatment, she \u201crelinquished\u201d herself to healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n
“I was just sitting in a corner of the room just dead inside, almost,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell recalled feeling \u201cterrified\u201d during her first moments inside the hospital.<\/p>\n
“When I went in the first day, when I was sort of waiting in reception, if you like, I started saying: \u2018I can’t do this. I can’t do this. No, I want to go home. I can\u2019t stay here.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nurses kind of came out and they were really, really nice and really calmed me down. I didn’t come out of the room for about three or four days.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell said she eventually gathered the strength to send a text message to Daniel, which she had struggled to do throughout her stay.<\/p>\n
“I sent a text and I explained everything. I just said […] \u2018I’ve nothing to say. I’m just lost. Please give me the time. I love you all very much\u2019,\u201d adding: \u201cI\u2019ll be back in contact with you when I feel able.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although she accepts that the depression never really goes away entirely, she is urging people to share their problems with somebody.<\/p>\n
“Every time you feel it, you talk,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
“That’s the thing is to talk and talk could just be \u2018I’m in a bad place\u2019, even if you don’t want to go into details or anything, but just to say \u2018I need help\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n