Breaking the silence

Catherine Zeta Jones on bipolar: "If I've helped one person, it'll be worth it"

MICHAEL Douglas has revealed that Catherine Zeta Jones felt forced into airing details of her treatment for Biplolar II disorder after she was outed by the National Enquirer.

And in an interview to be aired this evening in the US, he tells Oprah Winfrey that with his cancer, a legal action against the couple from his ex wife and his oldest son in jail, Catherine felt it was difficult to speak up.

News reports about the star's illness have also included a quote from her saying if her sharing these personal details help one person, then it will have been worth it.

Rather predictably when she made her illness public, people had the following to say:

• What has she got to be depressed about? She’s rich isn’t she?

Mental health and the internet, a report from The Mind Sanctuary

SINCE I started blogging about stuff to do with mental illness, the connection between the internet and our state of mind has remained of interest.

This is not least because on the one hand, the web can be a place to find understanding and support, while on the other a cloak of anonymity makes it easier to say hurtful things, which can cause a lot of emotional pain at a time when you are feeling low.

Sometimes the people behind those cruel words may be ill themselves.

An insight into mental health provision, what resources would you add?

HAVE you read many accounts from people who have experienced mental health services first hand? I haven't.

My impressions of mental health provision were based for a long time almost entirely on ignorance.  As a fan of so many TV detectives I sometimes whimsically imagined that mental health treatment only happened at fresh-lawned stately homes with personal trainers jogging merrily about and affable academics and psychiatrists at every turn.

Then there's the other images of psychiatric hospitals portrayed so often in our media, from the desperation of olden days asylums on Who do you think you are? to the bullying oppression of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

So never mind these oudated cliches, what of the reality?

The reality is this:

Mark talked about one man who had walked out of the ward at the end of his stay to nothing, with no contacts, not introductions.  He said he wasn’t surprised to hear how the man had got himself back by standing in the middle of the road, directing traffic.

Christmas and mental health

 
Introduced by Linda Jones

CHRISTMAS is supposed to be a time of joy, of love, togetherness and celebration. Of course to point out it isn't for everyone may be stating the obvious but I wanted to help this anon mum speak up because her story is important. It's very easy to feel under pressure to play the part of a perfect parent more than any other time of the year. And if you are alone,  feelings of isolation can be at their worst.

 If you are feeling down this festive season, please be kind to yourself and don't think you are to blame, perhaps you are ill, why not seek some help? And if you have friends or family affected by depression, social anxiety, or any other form of illness, please be there for them and try to understand.

Thanks.

THIS year, like every other I have been invited to countless parties. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't.

This year, I haven't been to any.

Two people who invited me said I had to go because I would be the life and soul.

This scared the hell out of me.

It may not sound that serious to you but it's painful for me. Facing up to the fact I can suffer from social anxiety is a bit of a shock. Nobody would ever have thought it. 

This is Mind: Video explaining charity's role

MIND is an amazing charity. I'm personally very grateful for the work it has led in tackling stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses and proud to have worked with the organisation in the West Midlands with Lyn through Open Up.

Please watch this video and listen to the people in it.  I hope you'll be glad you did.

Sopranos actor stomps the stigma of mental illness

MY partner loved The Sopranos. I think I'd love it too but I've never got round to watching the set of DVDs. So forgive me, I wasn't all that familiar with actor, director and producer's Joe Pantoliano's work.

But like Glenn Close, 'Joey Pants' is a US actor using his celebrity to shine a light on mental illness.

His No kidding, Me Too! charity has gathered massive support in America, with the likes of Harrison Ford also speaking up and Robert Kennedy Jnr dubbing him a Martin Luther King of the movement.

I found this trio of videos interesting and inspirational so thought I'd include them here. Pantoliano is also the producer of Canvas, a film I'd love to see.

Is mental illness funny?

A THOUGHT-provoking video - do you think it makes a valid point?

Jessie Close -- and her sister Glenn -- speaking up about bipolar disorder

I FOUND this video at Coming out of the dark, a blog highlighted by Frances at Brighter Futures Counselling.

Essentials magazine: Health insight - 'the secret we need to talk about'

THIS month in Essentials magazine four women tell their stories of experiences of mental distress and explain why they feel we should all be more open.

I'm one of them.

My headline reads: "At last it made sense, I wasn't mad or weak - I was ill."

I'm featured discussing past episodes of depression alongside Sasha talking about post-natal depression, Barbara who details her OCD and Siobhan who explains how she has been affected by bipolar disorder.

The photo shoot was hilarious and full of fun. It's not a day I will forget in a hurry thanks to the warmth of the Essentials team and the laughs I shared with the inspirational women featured, not least Barbara who had me in stitches. I'm also delighted that the piece, the brainchild of journalist Alison Palmer, includes a plug for  this blog.

If you get chance, I hope you can check the feature out.

Speaking out on bipolar in a book that's gone down a storm

THE following article was written for the women's community Judith's Room. It's an inspirational story. 

I AM crazy.

There, I said it.

This is the opening line in my book. Now, I know it's not politically correct to use the term crazy when referring to someone with a mental illness, but I wear the label like a badge of honor.

I feel I've earned it. The first commandment in writing is: Write what you know. Well, I know crazy. My kind of crazy is known as bipolar disorder.

I was diagnosed fifteen years ago. Within that time, I've experienced relentless cycles of severe mood swings and psychotic episodes. I've been committed to a psych ward more times than I can count. I've been treated by various doctors and have been on countless medication regimens.