![\"C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_caoileann.jpg\")
<\/p>\nC\u00e1oile\u00e1nn Conway describes living with constant rumination, fear and exhaustion from over-thinking \u2013 planning for worstcase scenarios before they happened, managing panic before simple interactions, and feeling drained by the constant anxiety<\/p>\n
C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn Conway<\/p>\n
When C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn Conway picked up her phone and called Lifeline in the early hours of the morning, she didn\u2019t know what to say \u2013 she just knew she couldn\u2019t cope.<\/p>\n
For a long time when growing up Caoileann, who is now a performance dietitian and social media personality, didn\u2019t have the language to explain how she was feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was younger, mental health just wasn\u2019t really a thing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t something we were even aware of or spoke about.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn was 19 and struggling silently through her first year of university. What had started as feelings of anxiety in her teens had intensified, turning everyday interactions into overwhelming challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would describe it as starting with anxiety and then moving more into a combination with depression, where I would feel numb but constantly worried at the same time,\u201d she explains. \u201cWith anxiety you\u2019re constantly worrying, constantly thinking ahead about all the worst possible scenarios \u2013 how am I going to get through today?\u201d<\/p>\n
She describes living with constant rumination, fear and exhaustion from over-thinking \u2013 planning for worstcase scenarios before they happened, managing panic before simple interactions, and feeling drained by the constant anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d get into the car at the end of the day by myself and just feel absolutely exhausted. It was affecting absolutely everything \u2013 I didn\u2019t want to go to uni, see friends, go to football training. I didn\u2019t want to socialise much because I was trying to be a different person for each situation, but I didn\u2019t even know who I actually was. It\u2019s really exhausting when you\u2019re constantly just troubleshooting. Which is probably hard to believe considering what I do for work now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted the thoughts to stop. I wasn\u2019t suicidal, and I\u2019m always really clear about that, as I\u2019m so aware people go through much worse. I just knew I couldn\u2019t keep living like this every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_Be-better-you.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn Conway<\/p>\n
For years, C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn tried to manage these feelings largely on her own, but the night she called Lifeline was a turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must have been about half twelve or one in the morning and I was scrolling through social media,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI was sitting in the middle of my bed, I couldn\u2019t breathe and my thoughts were spiralling. I had never had a panic attack before and I didn\u2019t know what to do. I just typed \u2018Lifeline\u2019 into Google and rang the number.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lifeline \u2013 available on 0808 808 8000 \u2013 is Northern Ireland\u2019s crisis response helpline. Trained counsellors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering free, confidential support to anyone in Northern Ireland feeling overwhelmed, distressed or unable to cope. Lifeline counsellors are experienced in working with suicide, self- harm, abuse, trauma, depression, anxiety and many other issues.<\/p>\n
C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn remembers the moment the call connected: \u201cThis man answered. He had a really deep voice, and he was just so kind. He didn\u2019t push me to explain anything. He just helped me breathe. He told me that in that moment, I was safe. That nothing was going to harm me right now. All I had to do was stay on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
For C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn, that reassurance made all the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he asked what was wrong, I just kept saying \u2018I don\u2019t know how to make the thoughts stop.\u2019 And that\u2019s when he started giving me direction. For the first time, I felt like \u2013 oh my God \u2013 there are things I can do. There are solutions here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my catalyst to start getting more professional help. If I hadn\u2019t got that help at that time, I would be a completely different person today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kathy Owens from the Public Health Agency, who commissions the Lifeline service, says: \u201cWhen someone phones Lifeline, they speak directly to a trained counsellor who introduces themselves and creates a calm, supportive space. Many callers don\u2019t know exactly why they\u2019ve called \u2013 and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n
\u201cLifeline uses a compassionate approach aimed at providing support and finding positive solutions, helping callers make sense of what they\u2019re feeling and identify next steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cC\u00e1oile\u00e1nn\u2019s experience highlights the power of just lifting the phone and starting a conversation, and shows that talking really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
For C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn, support continued beyond the initial call. Where appropriate, Lifeline can provide follow-up calls or short-term crisis counselling, or helps connect people to other services that may further support their needs.<\/p>\n
C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn was offered a sixweek counselling programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose six weeks were the start of everything,\u201d she says. \u201cIt helped me realise I didn\u2019t have to feel like that forever. That was the start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn uses her platform \u2018Be a Better You\u2019 to talk not only about nutrition, but also openly about mental health. She believes mental wellbeing needs to be treated with the same care and consistency as physical health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can teach you everything about nutrition, but if your mental health isn\u2019t there, you will struggle to act on it. I always say mental health is like a muscle. The way I train five or six days a week physically, I have to do the same for my mental health. And if I stop, I could easily slip back into old ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her message to others is direct and grounded in experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely nothing to lose, because what you\u2019ve been doing hasn\u2019t worked,\u201d she says. \u201cUnless I called Lifeline that time, I would never have known there were solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lifeline is available 24\/7, free of charge on 0808 808 8000, for anyone in Northern Ireland who needs support. Talking really helps. For more information on Lifeline visit www.lifelinehelpline.info.<\/p>\n
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here<\/a> and sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"C\u00e1oile\u00e1nn Conway describes living with constant rumination, fear and exhaustion from over-thinking \u2013 planning for worstcase scenarios before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[102,1906,6623,2213,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-625212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-public-health-agency","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}