Stephen Fry - Discussing Mental Health

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Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist.

After a troubled childhood and adolescence, during which he was expelled from two schools and spent three months in prison for credit card fraud, he secured a place at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature. While at university, Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator Hugh Laurie. As half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and took the role of Jeeves (with Laurie playing Wooster) in Jeeves and Wooster.

Fry's acting roles include a Golden Globe Award–nominated lead performance in the film Wilde, Melchett in the BBC television series Blackadder, the title character in the television series Kingdom, a recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the crime series Bones, and as Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller V for Vendetta. He has also written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award–winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, which saw him explore his mental illness. He is also the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show QI.

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[jassonsw]

"I do go on don't I". Yes you do Stephen, but I could listen all day.

[gillianrayden]

I absolutely idolise this man! I tried to commit suicide several times after being raped and loosing my soulmate to suicide 8 years ago. People like Stephen got me through. Bless him!!!xxx

[historia]

I really respect Stephen Fry for being so open about his problems. He has given many people hope and will to live. A great man.

[bs]

I was at a military training college for 3 years, ( 1968 ) the average suicide rate was 1 per entry per year.
That by military standards was 'normal', the bullying was vicious.  
Some of the more unpleasant types would take bets on who would be next, may they rot in hell.
Bullying does not make ' men ' out of boys, it makes corpses .
The boys were aged between 15 and 19.

[peterpearce]

I love Stephen Fry more each time I see him. We should all be very grateful to have him 'on our side'. Bless you, Stephen.

[danzegamer]

I'm depressed and i hate people who say "just snap out of it" like i would do that but i fucking cant!

[IntouchMusic]

Fantastic interview. Fry's honesty amazes me, especially when you take into account his line of work which is full of deceit, bullshit and lies. 

[jeffaltier]

Stephen Fry is the reason I try to be o0pen with people about my bipolar, dysthymia, and mental issues. His willingness to live that "out loud" is the greatest way to erase some of the stigma. Bravo to him.

[sarahdrenth]

Stigma. Oh yes. I have Borderline Personality Disorder, amongst other issues like depression and anxiety, and know all about stigma. A lot of criminals are diagnosed with BPD. He's so correct in saying that he is in an occupation where he can be completely outspoken about all aspects of his personal life without fear of losing something like his job. If anything he may be more in demand as a speaker because of his Bipolar Disorder. The rest of us ordinary souls have to keep pretty quiet about our mental "dis-eases".

[david]

Immensely wise and articulate! A lovely gentleman who one can experience the flight of his mania at large in this evening’s conversation. Thoughts flying like faeries around the room, mostly euphoric, bordering on the disphoric. That said, still more intelligent and interesting than most people I know. Hurrah to Fry!!

[stephenjablonsky]

My father was bipolar back in the days before medication. There were times when he couldn't get out of bed for weeks at a time. On the other end of the spectrum, he would wake up and decide to go to Texas for breakfast. To lesser degree, we have all had our emotional ups and downs. For many of us happiness and contentment is very elusive. It is not easy to be a human being, so we must learn to be kind to ourselves and then to others. If you find yourself being judgmental, just stop and get off the bench.

[adamwebster]

I love that line "It's like the weather". it's got me through some tough times. I was standing on a bridge ready to jump and kill myself once, tears streaming down my eye's but I had 'prepared' for it, as I had just been diagnosed and released from hospital and knew what to expect. I had written a little poem to enforce to my future self why I shouldn't die. It worked. Stopped me jumping. I think diagnosis is essential but it is such a shame that the medicine saps creativity and imagination.

[socratease]

"How dear achieved", ' Wilfred Owen - superb reference.

[SilverBullet]

I have a quiet mental struggle with to be honest I don’t know what each day and can never figure out why or what the problem is, listening to Stephan helps me to see it’s not something to be embarrassed about. Wish him all the health in this world, superb human being

[MazHem]

It'd be good also if more people consider that self harm is not limited to cutting, self harm can be as simple as being purposefully careless when crossing the street, or otherwise putting yourself in dangerous situations. It can also be purposefully causing yourself other types of pain, such as punching things until your hands bleed or giving yourself friction burns.

[AlanMaxfield]

I have been suffering with depression since I can remember. I always remember the lows, the more I think about my past and the decisions I have made, the more I understand I could have been self harming (destructing). The highs that I have experienced also make me think about how self harming can come from different mood states and not just be about what you can do to yourself now.

[gane]

I've been a mentalist myself, I've worked with MIND and many others, I was in care at the age of 16 and a friend of mine who was also resident in the children's-home started to self harm, years later he told me how it felt, painful emotions which cannot be expressed via talking therapies manifest themselves into these afflictions of ones physical self, a distraction from mental anguish, we want to explain how we feel but cannot so we wear the mask, anger is a mask for fear, dreams are just unresolved emotions, there is help out there, find it, talk to someone.

[Zee]

Stephen, you are an incredibly courageous individual and I laud you for it. Suffice it to say, “I’ve been there, done that, got the T shirt”. Keep up the good work!

[Damingo]

That person that keeps coughing and doesn't step outside... CMON MAN

[KyLives]

We are trying to heal "the public perception of the illness... The illness the public has, what you might call stigma" by highlighting the realities of mental health through documenting individual cases, and trying to explain these illnesses through creative expression in more engaging ways for the general public who may not necessarily see mental health as an important issue. Everyone says yeah, yeah, we know mental health is important but do people really make a study of mental health and seek to understand mental illnesses and psychological development. In Australia, we do not see anywhere near enough awareness. Very little funding is provided for mental health organisations and treatment.