A Day in the Life

I have sometimes written in this blog about celebrities "coming out" as having had experience of mental illness, and how I felt such openness has been an aid to alleviating stigma. Among the most well-known of these is Stephen Fry, who recently admitted to attempting suicide only last year despite, seemingly, having it all. To my mind, such things show how mental illness can affect anyone, even the most talented and successful. However, in an article in "The Observer" newspaper by Barbara Ellen entitled "Severe depression is hell, even if you are famous", it was argued that increasing instances of celebrities suffering from mental illness are actually creating "compassion fatigue" and leading to "a whole new level of stigma". Ellen argues that because of an often-felt contempt for the famous, when they are open about their mental health they are perceived as "over-diagnosed, over-indulged, attention-seeking fakes". Her ar...

For those who don't know, and for those who do, room 237 is the room in The Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's film version of Stephen King's novel, "The Shining", which the character of Dick Hallorann warns Danny Torrance to stay away from. It is also the room which Jack Nicholson, playing Danny's father, Jack Torrance, enters, only to find an alluring, naked woman in a bath. As she stands up and moves towards Jack and they embrace, however, it becomes clear that, in fact, she is some kind of malevolent spirit, and soon she reveals her true form. For those who've seen the film, I needn't remind you of what happens. But, "Room 237" is also the title of a recent documentary about "The Shining" in which various commentators reveal what they think are the hidden meanings and messages in the film, and I have to say that I found it fascinating, not least because of my own experience of mental ill health. I was once delusional. And, I ...

A while ago I wrote a blog about a report from the Schizophrenia Commission. The report, entitled "The Abandoned Illness", argued that those with a diagnosed psychotic disorder were being let down by a broken and demoralised system. But that is not what I'm going to concentrate on here. Rather, it is just one small part of that report that has got my attention this time, for in it, the head of the Commission, Professor Sir Robin Murray, stated that the days of the "ideological disputes" which had surrounded mental health had now gone. The disputes to which he refers were, I believe, to do with whether mental illness is better viewed as being caused by biological, or environmental/social/personal, factors, and Murray argued that it was now understood that both biological and social factors had a role in mental ill health. However, in "The Observer" newspaper on 12th May, it was reported that the British Psychology Society's division of clinical psy...

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln.     I read recently in a book by the journalist Jon Ronson (who, incidentally, also authored "The Psychopath Test", on which I based a previous post entitled, "Do Psychopaths Run the World?") that the genius film director Stanley Kubrick had a great distrust of those in power. After talking to Kubrick's widow, Christiane, Ronson states that the couple's "great principle in life" was to "always be suspicious of people who have, or crave, power". I have to say that I think I share Kubrick's point of view, and as I watched "The Politician's Husband" on BBC2 the other day, the first scenes of which depict David Tennant's character's failed bid for power, I began to wonder just what makes people want such power, and what does it do to them when they get it? To use a contemporary exam...

In my last post I spoke about a new direction for this blog, but as I have some sad news to relay concerning mental health, I will be returning to my main topic, at least for this post. And, the sad news is that the local mental health charity that I worked for voluntarily for over five years has now closed. The Media Action Group for Mental Health closed its doors for the last time on 28th March 2013. The group began in December 2000, and developed as an independent user-led charity with a remit to promote positive perceptions and awareness of mental health issues by working with the media in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. Indeed, when I joined the group as a volunteer in 2007, we were taught how to interact in a positive way with the media as part of the group's "Talkbank" project. Many letters of protest were written, many interviews given, and as part of our training we even got to go to Staffordshire University where we made short films about mental he...

I don't know what it is, but this blog seems to be becoming less and less about mental ill health. The aim of this blog was, of course, to explain some of the misconceptions surrounding mental illness, and by doing so, attempt to dismantle some of the stigma which is still a burden to many. But, as I have gotten better and more time has gone by since my last episode of ill health, my preoccupation with mental illness has abated. Now I find that I've virtually exhausted the subject, at least from my own point of view, so I look around, feverishly trying to think of things to write about. I suppose that this, really, is a good sign (at least for me), as I now look to other areas to spark my interest. You could say that it's just another episode on a journey, a journey which has taken me from being very unwell and almost defined by my own illness, to one who now sees himself as very much his own person once again. I hope, then, that this blog reflects an ongoing progress (i...

After my last post about me giving up smoking, my hairy, hippy friend, Gary, remarked that I seemed to have "dumbed down" somewhat. So, being a little flustered by this observation, I thought I'd write something about the phenomenon of "dumbing down". When, for example, did this phrase start being so widely used? And, also, why? Being a relatively new phrase, could it be that it describes something peculiar to our own times? Well, according to Wikipedia, dumbing down describes "the deliberate deminishment of the intellectual level of literature, film, schooling and education, news, and other aspects of culture". Apparently, the phrase originated in the 1930s, when it was used by motion picture screenplay writers as slang to describe the process of revising a screenplay so that it would appeal to those of little education or intelligence. Indeed, judging by most mainstream Hollywood output, it would appear that the "dumbing down" of movies is...