Comedian Al Porter is a young rising star, who is getting quite a reputation for himself as one of Ireland’s most popular comedians.
The Tallaght native has just completed a string of Irish gigs as part of his Al Porter At Large tour, but it seems that there are deeper issues at play off-stage, and the 23-year-old has just opened up about them.
Appearing as a guest on last night’s Cutting Edge, Al honestly discussed his own struggle with depression for the first time in the public arena, and revealed that he has been taking antidepressants for some time now.
“I really debated talking about this tonight because I’m going to tell you something now, and everybody watching, something that I didn’t even tell my mam until two hours ago.
A friend of mine told me “Al, if you’re not enjoying everything that you’re getting – while having a great time, a great life and winning all these events by making people laugh – maybe it’s not your circumstances, maybe it’s a physical thing. Maybe it’s an imbalance, go to a doctor.
“I went to a doctor, I wouldn’t even go to my own family doctor, I was too afraid. So I went to a doctor in Carlow. He said, ‘look, you need anti-depressants and I never thought that I would be that person. Nobody in my family would think that I would be that person.
“I’ve been hiding them in my house, I have had my friend go and pick them up because I don’t want to go in with a prescription. I’ve had the prescription written to different names. That stigma, I never really thought it was real.
“I heard people talk about it and I’m kind of going “I can’t really get where you’re coming from”, and then I suddenly realise, someone that’s as confident as me who tells people every detail about their life – I couldn’t just admit that yeah, I need those.
“If I can’t cope with that, Jesus knows how somebody who doesn’t have the confidence that I do, someone who’s in their bed for three weeks and is going “who am I gonna ring to pick them up for me,” he said.
We commend him for his honesty.
.@TheAlPorter talks about the stigma of taking anti-depressants.#CuttingEdge https://t.co/VUZxn50bTz
— Cutting Edge (@CuttingEdgeRTE) November 16, 2016
