‘One in four have a mental health problem’: Stigma still needs breaking, says Fry

Stephen Fry has spoken out about mental health and bipolar

STEPHEN FRY has always been very open about his battle with mental illness -in 2012 he admitted that he had attempted suicide.

 

Now the 58-year-old has spoken out about how being diagnosed with bipolar disorder 21 years ago helped to explain the “massive highs and lows” he’d experienced since his youth. 

It wasn't until the age of 37 that Fry was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. "I'd never heard the word before, but for the first time I had a diagnosis that explains the massive highs and miserable lows I've lived with all my life,“ Fry said. 

 

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a condition that affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another. 

People with bipolar disorder will have periods or episodes of both depression, where they feel low and lethargic, and mania – where they feel very high and overactive.

 

Fry found out that the illness affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK

In the course of his research for his documentary 'The Secret Life of The Manic Depressive', Fry found out that the illness affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK. 

He was also shocked to discover how much prejudice still surrounds mental health problems. 

It’s a myth that mental health problems are rare. In fact, one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year, according to leading mental health charity Mind. 

“One in four people, like me, have a mental health problem. Many more people have a problem with that,” Fry said. 

 

Bipolar disorder was formerly known as manic depression

The comedian believes better public awareness is needed to “fight the public stigma and to give a clearer picture of mental illness that most people know little about."

Fry is the President of Mind and is one of the most famous supporters of Time to Change, its anti-stigma campaign run in partnership with the charity Rethink Mental Illness. 

Fry hopes that in breaking the silence about mental illness, people will begin to see that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed about. 

"Once the understanding is there, we can all stand up and not be ashamed of ourselves, then it makes the rest of the population realise that we are just like them but with something extra."