Sinead O'Connor Opens Up on Mental Illness After Found Safe in Chicago Suburb

Sinead O'Connor addressed her history of mental illness Monday in a scathing message to her family after authorities called off an hour-long search for the Irish singer across Chicago’s suburbs. O’Connor had reportedly been missing for more than 24 hours before she was located. 

O'Connor was found safe Monday afternoon after reportedly disappearing from the Chicago suburbs Sunday morning. Hours later, she penned a Facebook note to family members saying the "suicidal ideation expressed by me is NOT as you call it 'manipualitve.'"

"All you did is accuse me falsely," she wrote. "Your understanding of my medical situation is medieval. I intend to bring every one of you to court for pushing me to the brink of death over and over. And being so disappointed when you fail. You have BRUTALISED me all my life. Just as my mother was Brutalise. You never asked yourselves whether your abuse would cost my two young sons their mother. It did. I had to flee here to America just to try and live. Leaving everything and everyone I knew. Such is the fate of Irish people with mental illnesses."

O'Connor adds that she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

"Guess what guys, I am not, nor have I ever been the sick person in this scenario," she continued. "YOU GUYS ARE. And I'm very happy that I am not well adjusted to your profoundly sick society. I'm sorry to disappoint you by not being dead. But hey... Continue your medieval abandonment of me (Your ill family member) and you just never know. Your wish may come true. You are revolting every one of you. And now I understand what my poor mother suffered."

O’Connor was last seen when she reportedly left for a bike ride at 6 a.m. Sunday in north suburban Wilmette, police said, and never returned.

Police were notified of her disappearance by a caller who expressed concern for her well-being, authorities said, but further information was not immediately made available.

A close friend of the singer told NBC 5 O'Connor had left Ireland in January amid a medical and personal crisis. She has since been staying with friends in the Chicagoland area. 

Police said just before 2:30 p.m. Monday the singer had been found safe and "is no longer listed as a missing/endangered person."

While authorities would not say where or how O'Connor was found, a close friend said she was located at the Best Western hotel in Morton Grove, where several police cars and an ambulance had been spotted.

Morton Grove Police Commander Paul Yaras confirmed Wilmette Police asked Morton Grove authorities to assist them on a call at the Best Western, but would not specify what the call involved. 

A source said O'Connor was taken to an area hospital.

Early Sunday, just two hours after she was last seen, O'Connor took to Facebook to vent on an apparent legal matter involving her children. She wrote about Tusla, which is the Child and Family Agency in Ireland, and what appeared to be some sort of legal issue:

"Jake, kindly go to the court on Tuesday and take custody your brother from Tusla," she wrote. "My lawyer will be making the illegal way yourself and Donal got him into Tusla (lying to the cops etc) known to the judge. expect to be in trouble. In fact you'd best bring a lawyer of your own. And do not abandon your brother or any other of my babies again. What you have done to your brother and your mother is LITERALLY criminal."

O'Connor previously sparked concern in November after posting what appeared to be a suicidal note on the same Facebook page. The 49-year-old Irish singer has battled depression and attempted to take her own life before.

In the November posting, she referenced being at the center of what she said was "appalling cruelty" by her family and police in Ireland. Earlier that week, O'Connor wrote messages referencing what appeared to be a fight with two of her exes over two of her four children. 

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"The last two nights finished me off," she said in the post. "I have taken an overdose. There is no other way to get respect. I am not at home, I'm at a hotel, somewhere in Ireland, under another name." 

She also referenced a hysterectomy she had undergone and said she got depressed after the operation "because I got left all alone to recover." 

Thousands of people promptly commented on the public note, with many of her followers calling authorities to check on her. A source told E! News police were made aware of the situation and were able to locate O'Connor, who was found "safe and sound." 

The singer has spoken candidly about her mental health issues in the past and had told Oprah Winfrey in 2007 that she attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday in 1999. In 2011, O'Connor received a visit from police after tweeting what appeared to be a suicidal rant.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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