The documentary mentioned about his bi-polar is available on Amazon (and without permission on Youtube) for anyone interested, it's a very good insight into bi-polar and depression, worth the 120 minutes:<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808482/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808482/</a><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fry:_The_Secret_Life_of_the_Manic_Depressive" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fry:_The_Secret_Life_of...</a><p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stephen-Frys-Secret-Manic-Depressive/dp/B002XT38GO" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stephen-Frys-Secret-Manic-Depressive...</a>
I have bipolar and ADHD. I've been speaking on it at tech conferences this year [1]. Recently we started devpressed.com [2], a forum where the tech community can talk about depression.<p>We need to destigmatize mental illness so that our friends and coworkers aren't ashamed to ask for help. There are a lot more people going through this than you think. If you're struggling, and don't have anyone to talk to, check out devpressed, or contact me.<p>[1] <a href="http://confreaks.com/videos/2341-mwrc2013-devs-and-depression" rel="nofollow">http://confreaks.com/videos/2341-mwrc2013-devs-and-depressio...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.devpressed.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.devpressed.com</a>
It's tempting to think that he's wealthy and working and so this disclosure is easy to make, because it won't affect his work life.<p>In theory we have anti-discrimination laws here, but it's hard to prove that someone hasn't employed you because of your mental health problems. And actors usually need to be insured when they're doing a film. It's hard for some actors to get that insurance, expensive, because of past mental illness.<p>Stephen Fry (among others in some UK media) is doing good work at destigmatizing mental illness.
I don't even want to imagine a day Stephen Fry isn't around. What a horrible, horrible void there would be where he stood.<p>The insidiousness of this disease is in how well it hides itself in plain sight in many cases. And how terrifyingly easy it is to fall to it.<p><pre><code> He said there is "no reason" for someone wanting to take their own life.
"There is no 'why', it's not the right question. There's no reason. If there were a reason for it, you could reason someone out of it, and you could tell them why they shouldn't take their own life," he said.</code></pre>
Glad to see a major figure going public about his struggle with mental illness. Though I don't think that those with a "celebrity status" should be pressured into sharing this information, let alone expected to do so, it's always comforting for me to see people slowly start to release their stigmas with discussing mental illness, especially on a personal level. As someone who has suffered from mental illness, it would do so much to be able to talk to others without worrying about the reactions and dismissal that comes from so many people I've encountered.
The nature of this illness truly reveals itself when you can contrast the quotes from the article with his behaviour in a show like QI. Without knowing more about him you would presume him to be a very happy man.<p>My roommate suffers from bipolar disorder (and a lot of other stuff to boot), and honestly, it is as much a disease with as much rationale behind it as any physiological one. His comment about "arguing" with suicidals hit the right note.
At first, I read "Stephen Fry reveals he <i>will</i> attempt suicide in [year]". My mind racing as to "why, why would he ever want to do that?".<p>After having understood the actual title, I'm now unsure which of the two is more confusing or unsettling. I suppose equally so. This world would miss an incredible human being.<p>There was a deeply insightful interview with him where he spoke about self pity and how destructive it is[0]. I hope to some day meet him and thank him for that. As I would love to just thank him for openly being himself, in public.<p>I admire his ability to explain a concept that is dear to him. He will lay the scene in your head by touching of various points (which is exquisitely exploited in his host capacity on QI) and then, with sudden, stern force drill the most amazing and brutal observation into your skull that makes a lightbulb explode right above your head.<p>He will start speaking and briefly mention what he is talking about. Then he will turn all chitty-chattery as you are accustomed to, cause it's Stephen. And then he just ravages you with this piece of gold and while you're still recovering from the blow to your brain, he will return to Stephen mode, picking up the pieces, holding your hand, asking whether you're OK and making everything good again.<p>I would walk right up to him, wherever I can get a hold of him, tell him how much I admire him and weep in public, right then and there, without hesitation. Then I will tell him that I haven't done anything close to that in years. I should really find out whether he will be close to where I live anytime soon.<p>[0] <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2kelqYz_o" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2kelqYz_o</a>
I was actually at this podcast recording (its great by the way, check it out). It was the most human discussion I've heard for a long time. It really struck home that people assume so much of someone because they are on TV. He is a great guy with many problems, a great ambassador for taking the stigma out of mental illness.
We need more people like Fry to speak up about their experiences with bipolar disorder. It's widespread yet stigmatized because not everyone understands it or knows how to seek treatment.<p>I was diagnosed bipolar as a kid and spent over three years in a locked disciplinary boarding school. At first I was reluctant to take medication because of the stigma associated with it, but taking lithium changed my life.<p>I've been completely stable for 9 years, taking the same low dose.<p>It's really hard to find the right mix of medication and / or behavioral changes because every person is different. But it is possible for people with bipolar to find balance, stability and happiness. I think that speaking up about our personal experiences helps shatter the stigma while supporting families who are still considering different treatment options.
> <i>The actor and comedian attempted suicide after walking out of the West End play Cell Mates in 1995 - an event he recounted in a documentary for BBC Two called The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.</i><p>He also attempted suicide as a teenager (I think 16/17 but don't quite recall), although in his (first) autobiography he describes it as a childish rebellion to upset his parents. Therefore I wonder if it's happened 3 times or potentially many more.<p>Incidentally, both his autobiographies are well worth reading. As are his novels.
i've struggled with bipolar for years. it's not easy. after my startup was sold in an asset purchase and i was left with nothing but the credit card debt i'd accumuluated thinking i was going to make it big, i crashed hard. i got all tangled up in a huge web of internal metaphors and was in and out of mental hospitals - 3 stints in two months. i'm getting better now, and it's good to have people like stephen fry trying to destigmatize the illness.
Bipolar's a terrible disease -- around 30% of people with bipolar disorder attempt suicide at least once, and around 15% of people with it ultimately die from suicide.<p>So glad that Stephen Fry is still with us, and is continuing to speak out about mental illness so well.
Hopefully this will bring the issue of mental health back to the fore AND make sure that funding for the appropriate NHS and outpatient services does not get tampered with.
And, of course, he's now being hounded by the press. From <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenfry/status/342569662661394432" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/stephenfry/status/342569662661394432</a>:<p><i>Grrr: door-stepped by the press this morning. Said all there was to be said in the podcast with [Richard K Herring] - intrusion makes 1 withdraw</i><p>to be expected, perhaps, but not really helpful.
I always thought people want to suicide all the time but are too shameful to confess.
First time I attempted suicide was at 12, when my fathers divorced and my mother left.
Then I had the misfortune to be the classic tiny nerdy good guy, always in love with some girl. Young girls can be cruel.
Suicide was always in my mind from 15 to about 25. But it is not a dreadful feeling, in fact at that times, it can be very liberating.
To think everything has a very simple solution, I saw death like the end of suffering and the beginning of peace, whats not to love about that? Suicide thoughts always comforted me in those sad moments, like a pressure valve. Nothing can be so bad that death is not a fix for it.<p>But its easier to think about it than to do it, that's for sure. Something changed in my mind about the time I had 30. Never had those feelings again. But I always will remember the times I contemplated death as moments of hope in between desperation.