Early in his career, comedian and broadcaster PJ Gallagher wanted to be known as “the funny guy”. Nowadays, many people see him as “the depression guy”. He says this at the start of PJ Gallagher: Changing My Mind (RTÉ One, Monday, 9.
35pm), a moving if over-ambitious chronicling of his mental health challenges as he prepares to become a father. It’s an emotive documentary and Gallagher, star of RTÉ's Naked Camera and a breakfast presenter on Radio Nova in Dublin, is an articulate spokesman on mental health – frank about the challenges he has faced, optimistic about being there for his partner, Kelly Doolin, and their twins. [ PJ Gallagher: Mental illness is the most articulate liar you will ever live with in your life ] Depression drove Gallagher to a dark place.
“If I’d had my way, I’d be two years dead,” he says. At his lowest point, he didn’t need to talk – he required “24-hour round the clock care”. In that dark moment he turned to his friend, the writer Stefanie Preissner , before checking into St Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin for three months.
“There’s something wrong with you,” Preissner says as they catch up for a matey lunch. “I’m autistic. I’m allowed to say these things.
” Encouraged by her warm, honest support, Gallagher undergoes an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is characterised by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. READ MORE How Ireland drinks now: Teetotallers, wine-o�.