hi everyone, i just signed up for this forum. i saw this program, in fact i even took a few nights off from work to catch it. it was very informative indeed. i grew up watching steven fry since i was very young and he has always been known as a very witty, very eruditean character and i was most surprised to find out about his depression in as much detail as he displayed in this program.

im still trying to figure out if where i stand in the wide canon of depression diagnosis as i've been told many many different things. this program was a great help in whittling down a self diagnosis (i know! not the best way to get round to sorting things out but i havent registered with a new doctor yet).

i would recommend everyone to see this program with or without the affliction.

Im sure there are many who find help in this doco. But to me, I felt it was rather tainted. While I can have bouts of mania, I do not relish in them. I know it's different for all of us, but when I saw this, I was hoping to find some sort of connection with what Stephen is going thru and what I go thru. While we may have episodes of utter and dire darkness, I certainly dont appreciate my opposites.

I have made too many seriouasly bad life choices when feeling utterly off the planet. It may be ok for people in the media/limelight to use it to their advantage, but for most of us, IMO (and my opinion only I will add) it can be entirely destructive...

I just felt that the doco was not inclusive of the entire situation, but then it was Stephens story, and in that I am glad others can find help. :)

Maybe one day a non-entity can tell their story en masse and be more helpfull to others, as opposed to being another story of failure and loss, which is so often swept under the carpet by society...

im not sure if the program was helpful or not, it semed to paint a rather extremist view of the lows of depresion,

dare i say it almost o.t.t?!

it didnt show the way forward how to cope, where to get goos help, what was the point of it, i just find it damaging to those who are concerned with there mental health,

however on the other sida fair play for having balls to get it out there, thats definitly a good thing, i just dont know if it help with the stereotype thats all.

This prgram really helped me, love steven fry

I thought the program did a reasonable job of introducing the theme to people, and yes, fair play for him having the balls, but I do think also that it failed to really describe(If at all possible...) the extremes we can find ourselves in and how devastating that can be on our lives sometimes. I got the feeling it was a bit `watered down` myself.
I do think it`s important to remember that many people do go undiagnosed (and quietly[!!] mad) for many years, especially in the UK, and ultimately we should support him in having taken this step as we would also wish for and give support to any sufferer. I don`t like that word, mind, but it fits.
I hope he does a follow up with a little bit more depth on the subject.
Be Well

This is my first post here, the first forum I entered (only because the Personality Disorders forum is password-protected), and the first post I clicked on upon entering. Seeing Stephen Fry's name made me smile, not because I am familiar with him as an actor, but because I am familiar with him through the documentary only.

I found this two part documentary available online, and added it to my large collection of digital media. When I watched it for the first time, I was immediately able to relate to some of the feelings brought up. Rather than self-diagnose myself with bi-polar disorder, I simply found comfort listening, watching, and learning about the type of pain/depression felt by him and the many other subjects interviewed and discussed.

I have since watched it several times, which possibly further pushed me away from diagnosing myself with bi-polar disorder, or manic depression. That said, a theme expressed a few times in the program, is knowing there is something wrong, but not knowing exactly what or why. I have been and am currently trying to help myself by learning about these subjects, while my illness (fear? is that an illness) is preventing me from getting help I need.

Anyway, glad to be here and I hope this is an appropriate first post! :)

Stephen Fry did a documentary called "The secrect life of a manic depressive", in it he took part in some bipolar research conducted by Birmingham and Cardiff Universities. For more information on this research you can download the "Spring 2007 newsletter" at the bottom of the page using this link:

“Link removed by the Administration, per our TOS. Please PM bham2000 for the link to the site.”

I hope you find it interesting!

This post has been edited by lambvet: Sep 19 2007, 07:50 AM

Hello everybody, I was diagnosed with depression some years ago when I was close to getting stomach ulcers from my job then and at the same time a broken relationship. I went on medication for 5 months and it worked like a dream for me. I was bouncing off walls and was never happier. I had been with a manic depressive and sometimes I think that the reason I was so drawn to him was probably because I could relate to his condition. It was a bad match and since that broken relationship, I have had a few more that could not last more than a few months. I was too intense, they all said, even the manic depressive said so. If I had too much pain in me, I had to hurt myself, not so much as to kill myself even though the thought has occured to me many times, living always prevailed but I was apt to drawing blood from my flesh.

The past 3 years, I have been moving from one country to another, from Europe to UK, to the Middle East and then back to UK and then to USA...as if I am looking for some spiritual alleviation. I am now in Asia and as much as I feel aware of my emotions, I have this growing anger towards inefficiency and can barely tolerate people who keep making excuses and I realize that I am becoming like my ex who was manic depressive. I am living with my current boyfriend now who is great in listening to me and helping me sort out my emotions but I am also living with a very good friend of his who is much older than us, in her mid 50s, and she drives me crazy. I think she is manic depressive, and I think she is suffering from delusion as well as having a passive aggressive personality disorder.....problem is, apart from the delusion, I often question myself if this was a reflection of my own disorder. I am confused.......This woman is seriously dysfunctional and does things I never would make a fuss of with anyone else yet, I feel guilty sometimes when I get aggravated with her leaving a mess in the house and that is when I question my own sanity. I guess I need help to identify first what my problem really is.

My husband showed me this and I really enjoyed it, helped me understand bipolar disorder a lot better.
I'm not bipolar, my husband is here looking for the best way really to support him better

Thats on Foxtel tomorrow night in Australia on the BIO channel I think at 8.30pm

I have locked into watch it tomorrow night.

Isabeau

I saw the TV show and thought Stephen Fry was very brave for 'outing' himself so publicly.

My heart goes out to him and anyone who experiences those symptoms.

However, I am concerned about how the establishment chooses to deal with those symptoms...and how they diagnose such a 'disorder' in the first place. Where are the actual scientific tests that show an individual has a chemical imbalance or not??

Just read a book called 'Dying for a Cure" by Rebekah Beddoe.
A true and very recent story of an Australian women who was misdiagnosed with bipolar. Her story of professional abuse made my toes curl. She was given a smorgasbord of drugs that ended up causing her to constantly want to self harm herself...and many of her supposed bipolar symptoms were actually byproducts of the drugs she was taking...not the other way round.

Well worth a read before you decide to take drugs to ameliorate your condition.

Hi Annette,

Thanks for your post. I could say a lot about what you have written but will keep it short for now. I'm not sure about your sincerity in joining a forum like this when you post a blanket criticism of the entire field of psychiatric medicine under the guise of commenting about Stephen Fry's show. I hope that I am misinterpreting your intentions and if so, please correct me. Please realize that bipolar disorder is a serious, severe MEDICAL condition and so, as with other illnesses, it requires medication in order to be properly treated. Please be respectful of the people on this forum who have enough to deal with already, as sufferers of bipolar illness, without having to deal with the additional stress of defending their need to take their medications. I am sure that Beddoe's story is a harrowing one, and misdiagnosis/mistreatment is tragic. But it is important to be logical. The fact that one person was misdiagnosed does not mean others cannot be accurately diagnosed with that same condition; the fact that certain medications may be harmful for some people does not mean they will have that effect on other people.

What other sources, besides that book, have you consulted to inform your opinions about psychiatric disorders and medications?

In the interest of full disclosure, I have not read Beddoe's book. However, I am interested in what this book may have to say, so I am going to try to find a copy and will read it. I will be happy to discuss it with you at that point if you're interested and still around here.

Every day i learn something new - that famous people also go through the same thing as we do.

Thank you Lindsay for reposting the info