"If you can identify the drivers to a person feeling trapped, you can hopefully help solve the problems."
– Rory O'Connor
Rory O’Connor PhD FRSE FAcSS is a Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research – the only person from the UK to have held both roles.
Rory leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab at Glasgow, one of the leading suicide/self-harm research groups internationally. He has published extensively in the field of suicide and self-harm. His research has been extensively cited as evidenced by Rory being named in the ISI Highly Cited Researchers list in 2022 and 2023, which ranks researchers in the top 1% for citations in their field. He is the recipient of several awards including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Research Award 2023.
He was delighted to be awarded the St Columb’s College Alumnus Illustrissimus award in November 2023. Previous recipients of the Alumnus Award have included Nobel Prize Winners John Hume and Seamus Heaney. He is also co-author/editor of several books, including being the author of the award-winning book When It is Darkest. Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do To Prevent It. Rory has also contributed to numerous TV documentaries on suicide and co-hosts the mental health podcast MQ’s Open Mind.
Rory's 3 tips for wellness
Free, easy to access and rewarding
Sleep
Really prioritise sleep because we need sleep to regenerate, it's a fundamental homeostatic function. So for us to regulate our whole body we need to be able to sleep.
Sleep is important for problem-solving. Sleep is important for emotion regulation. Sleep is important for your physical health.
Exercise
Even if it’s a five-minute walk around the block or ideally 15 or 20 minutes. But do try and do some exercise daily, no matter how big or small
It's your way of thinking
It's very difficult when you're in a really low state to think that actually things will never get better and that if you are struggling with your mental health or struggling with stress or whatever interpersonal stuff going on in your life and the way our mind works we can get into this mindset that we think that things will never ever change and that there is no hope.
In periods of darkness, there is always light, even though you may not be able to see it in the here and now. Please believe me, things get better.
