Stephen Fry

[GazM]

You sir, a a first class ingorant tw*t.<br /><br />-- Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:03 am --<br /><br />

Attention seeker. It's all about 'me' syndrome.

You sir, are a first class ingorant tw*t.

 

[another generation]

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/depression-part-two.html

Bob, that is probably the single most useful and enlightening thing you have ever posted. Thanks so much.

Couple of sentences from there that have previously been very relevant to me:

I managed to convince myself that everything was still under my control right up until I noticed myself wishing that nothing loved me so I wouldn't feel obligated to keep existing.

I don't necessarily want to kill myself; I just want to become dead somehow.

Think the latter is very true for many depressives and those suffering from bipolar. You don't want to draw the attention from the act of suicide; you just want to cease existing.

 

[Lucky Toma]

I bet it's got something to do with him being gay.

 

[Churchill123]

bi-polar disorder - Used to work with a lad who had it, and seemed like a hideous hideous thing to suffer from!

Like others have said, some days he was ontop of the world and then others he wanted to end it all

Only so much the medication do :S

 

[billfromthehill]

Psychiatry and psychology tend to split mental health issues into the purely psychological and the purely neurological... I think this is a pretty poor show and messes people up further.

SF has a diagnosis of bipolar, which is regarded as a neurological disorder, so it's safe to say his moods will swing unaccountably low for little or no reason, and his self worth will swing from less than zero to towering.. at the same time, it's interesting that he says he took his first overdose at 17, and this time was in the process of researching a programme on a difficult personal issue for him. I can only say I imagine someone in his position might be scarred by some of what happened when he was growing up realising he was gay. He is known for his banter and plays his know-it-all persona for laughs - he might actually not want to be that person all the time. He has taken on a lot with this role as well. He has the sort of personality and life that would lead to highs and lows in any case, but this is only part of the story. The point is that, he uses medication because it works - lithium genuinely is a miracle drug for a lot of Bipolars - this suggests extremely strongly that there is something very straightforwardly chemical happening in their brains.

look, I get mood swings too, *but I don't have a bipolar diagnosis, complicated story*. I had a stinker just over a week ago. I woke up and couldn't move out of bed. Felt so awful, heavy... I phoned the doctor, got in a state, realised I couldn't get there, cancelled the appt, did the same thing that afternoon. By that point I felt so guilty for not being in work, for wasting the doctors time, so fucking hopeless that I decided to throw away my mobile, not answer the home phone, I wouldn't talk to anyone again, they ought to forget me. Having improved my living standards considerably over the last year didn't help, it just adds to the hopelessness - 'nothing makes me happy, what more can I change?'. I've been in depression nearly non-stop since January. This means every day, every little thing, becomes a test of my will. Forget enjoying yourself by watching films or owt like that, I look forward to them then most of the time switch them off within 10 minutes. I'll confess I take (very) soft drugs to enable me to sit still, pay attention and enjoy the odd one. It doesn't help my depression in the long run but not being able to focus or enjoy anything for months on end is not good for you either - your brain needs feeding, be it enjoying company or music or whatever. If you have none of this you just get worse. But anyway, I am climbing out of it now, but still struggling with the thought of carrying on beyond a month or so.

What makes it worse for someone suffering badly from bipolar, is that their mood can switch very severely in the blink of an eye... I was safe because I didn't have the energy to get out of bed let alone the motivation or concentration to put a plan into action... but in a bipolar, they might enter a mixed state, where in the midst of a depression far more severe than mine, their mind just goes bonkers fast, every idea seems incredibly brilliant, from their mind saying 'no, no, no' to literally everything, it's now 'YES!!!! YES!!! YEEEEEEEEESSSSS!'. I had this once, just the once, thank god... you can't imagine the horror and terror when you suddenly, for example, in the middle of djing like a god for an impromtu party you are throwing, making everyone laugh and dance, you stumble across a suicide plan you had made, and instantly find yourself in both mindsets at once.... the other one I won't forget was lying on my bed, having come close to killing myself, with my mind and heart going so fast and hard... couldn't stop or slow down... like being a passenger in an aircrash. In my case, this was a reaction to coming off some prescription drugs, plus some horrific shit happening in my life. I have these swings still, but not as bad, and I am learning to cope better psychologically. But for a while last year I understood what the horror of bipolar would be like. Even when you are high, there is no rest, no peace, none at all, in fact your body and nerve-system is creaking and going wonky with the immense strain of being constantly in overdrive - it's very, very uncomfortable, and sleep can become a terrifying ordeal.

To live with this non-stop for years, to have to pick up the pieces when you have gone out of your mind and alienated your friends, blown your savings, made a complete fool of yourself.... not fun.

However I have a bit of a vested interest here and will repeat, Bipolar is not an excuse for living like a shit - bipolars by definition have periods of stability, normal mood referred to as euthymia... if you are still a shit when your mood is normal, then you are just a bit of a shit! And it's amazing to me how many bipolars regard their diagnosis as making them a bit special... because that is a symptom of another diagnosis that lurks perilously close symptomatically to bipolar, and has nothing to do with chemical imbalances, all to do with 'personality'. I tend to feel there is no real clear line to differentiate psychological imbalances from chemical imbalances, but that's how the system works.

Wow deep talk there summer buzz I wish you well mate, we could all do with a borrowed ear now n then I'm sure you've made a listener out of me .

 

[bluemoonrisin]

As a psychiatric nurse I feel qualified to mention a few things on this thread. Firstly the trolls with their "he's an attention seeker" "If I had his money I wouldn't be miserable" bollocks unfortunately shows that there is still some way to go with de stigmatising mental health issues. No matter how talented rich etc you are you don't get to choose if you may suffer from a mental health issue, in fact some people have so severe a mental health problem that they can't even choose how to live with it.

One of the biggest issues with mental health is the lack of scientific knowledge as to how it is developed and how to treat it. Stuff about chemical imbalances is not evidence based, its just a medical model theory, there are lots of other theories from genetics to trauma and each of them has there champions.

Really all you can do is treat the distress that it causes rather than try to give it a name i.e Bi Polar, depression or schizophrenia.

I've seen many people with depressive illnesses and the presentation is as diverse as the individual so some would say how can you simply give it a blanket term like depression.

It is a constantly evolving field and I'm sure in 20 years we will think of some of our "treatments" and practices as barbaric

 

[The Flash]

I bet it's got something to do with him being gay.

By that logic you should have killed yourself years ago, Toma.


Just sayin'...

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Summerbuzz, wow.

 

[wayne71]

Some great info on this thread. Some of the more ignorant members would do well to spend some time reading it because it could easily be you or a loved one affected in the future.

 

[StrangewaysHereWeCome]

Anyone who thinks "If I had that guys money I wouldn't be depressed" is not grasping the concept of depression. He'd probably be happier if he didn't have so much money as I personally imagine there is a large element of guilt behind it all, I have money, I can not worry about the bills, so why am I sad when there is so many other people really suffering in the world.

It's a vicious circle and a lonely place to be when you're depressed.