DJ tells of suicide concerns during Covid lockdowns - and how to survive

Dylan McKee, 22 attempted to take his life in July and November but on both occasions reached out to friends and survived.

“I had suffered with mental health issues before the pandemic but I was able to handle it,” he told the News Letter. “My release was going to work or to a nightclub and being able to do normal things like going out for a night with my mates.That would have helped - but now you can’t do that.”

When nightclubs closed last year and he could not go to work his income dried up and he began “stressing about money”.

“That started me thinking - what is the point here? I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”

Dylan has long been a high profile mental health advocate on social media and in Bangor and volunteered with a mental health charity last year. He is sceptical about assurances that the pandemic has not affected the suicide rate, however official figures have not yet been published for 2020.

“It is inevitable in my opinion that the pandemic affected suicide myself included,” he said.

“Only last week two young people I know of took their own lives. When I spoke with the families they said their child was struggling with the lockdown.”

For those currently asking ‘Is there a point to life?’ he says: “Yes there is a point, because eventually we will see the end of this and get back to some sort of normality. Just reach out and talk to someone, as hard as it is.”

“Get up and go for a walk. Start a hobby you haven’t done before like learning a new language or something else. I go for walks every day with my dog and started to produce and make music. Or if you can’t get that motivation talk to someone. It can be easier to write it to down that say it. It might even be in a book that nobody else sees.”

His Labrador-cross, Brian, is “a housemate and an emotional support animal” rolled into one, he adds.

To see Dylan’s documentary on his experience of surviving suicide attempts, click here

Claire Curran of East Belfast based SOS (Survivors Of Suicide) says provisional, unpublished figures appear to show “slightly less” suicides last year than in 2019. “However we have seen more people with suicidal ideation, anxiety, trauma and grief reaching out for help.”

A Samaritans spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the nation’s mental health, and while some evidence indicates suicide rates have not been impacted in the way that we were concerned about, we must not be complacent.”

Reach out for help:

Contact Samaritans free any time from any phone on 116 123 or via email [email protected].

Contact SoS in East Belfast on 028 90 460 201 or 07928 291 466

Contact Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.

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