Last Saturday I was thrilled to read about a school in Co Antrim which has introduced the study of philosophy for students of four years of age and upwards. According to both teachers and parents, the benefits are felt far beyond the classroom, "not just in terms of increased confidence, motivation and ability, but in a heightened respect for the differing views of others". In 1999, I walked through the gates of Trinity College to enrol as an undergraduate in the philosophy department. I had just returned home from years living in another city; I was recently married, unemployed and had been diagnosed with a mental illness I didn't quite believe I had. I wasn't sure if I could cope.
I believed I had a mental illness so I decided to get help.