Comedian Stephen Fry’s extraordinarily candid exploration of living with bipolar disorder – Stephen Fry’s The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (part 1 of 2) – was a welcome intrusion into our TV world tonight: serious, educational, life-affirming; bringing out into the light a mental illness more common than is diagnosed.
I had suicidal breakdowns at ages 12 and 17, and have known something of the ‘manic’ side as well as the ‘depression’ side; and have also known wide extremes of mood, from reckless confidence to crippling self-loathing, among relatives. My own personality has been stable for well over a decade now; but my experience has certainly been insightful in empathising with others.
I thank you, Mr Fry. Bravo!
Stephen Fry , bipolarity , manic depression
It was a fantastic programme - so in-depth and honest, yet accessible to people with no experience of the illness. I've never seen such a realistic yet funny portrayal of the disease. Stephen Fry rocks. Alas, I did not see the second part.
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