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	A woman has opened up about the stigma she felt after her father&#39;s suicide, saying: &quot;I never understood why we had to be so ashamed&quot;.</p>
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	Cindy O&#39;Connor, who is the Chief Clinical Office for suicide and self-harm prevention organisation Pieta House, lost her father when she was just a teenager.</p>
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	She recalled one particularly distressing incident shortly after his death when someone made a callous remark about his suicide in front of a group of friends.</p>
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	Ms O&#39;Connor said: &quot;I thought, &#39;Oh my God... Please don&#39;t...&#39; I just wanted to die right there. I didn&#39;t know what to do.</p>
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	&quot;So I just said, &#39;No, he didn&#39;t.&#39; And I ran back home. My father had died by suicide a couple of months before.</p>
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	&quot;I still remember how hard it was to deal with his loss, for the whole family.</p>
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	&quot;But it was even harder to deal with the shame that came with the fact that he that had taken his own life.</p>
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	&quot;My mother used to say that maybe it&#39;s better not to tell people what actually happened. That they may think we&#39;re a bit odd or something.</p>
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	&quot;I never understood why we had to be so ashamed if it wasn&#39;t at all our fault.&quot;<br />
	Ms O&#39;Connor was speaking to Humans of Dublin ahead of Darkness Into Light, an international fundraising and awareness event which will take place tomorrow morning.</p>
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	She said that she is glad her work with Pieta House can help people who are in distress.</p>
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	She said: &quot;Today, I know talking about it is the best thing you can do, and I&#39;m very proud to work somewhere, where we can take the extra weight off the already sore shoulders.&quot;</p>
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	For more information please see www.pieta.ie</p>
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	&nbsp;</p>
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	<br />
	Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th May 2017</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/darkness-into-light-woman-opens-up-about-stigma-after-her-fathers-suicide-35683178.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/darkness-into-light-woman-opens-up-about-stigma-after-her-fathers-suicide-35683178.html</a></p>
