Published on: 16th February 2016
Ten years since Stephen Fry’s “The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive” started a national conversation about mental health, BBC is coming back to the subject. The “Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On” will look at the experiences of Stephen and will feature Scott, Lincolnshire service user, and Dr Mithilesh Jha, Consultant Psychiatrist working for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT).
Mental health is fast becoming one of the great issues of our time with growing numbers of people in the UK seeking help. BBC One is dedicating two weeks of its schedule to “In the Mind” season exploring this important subject in closer detail.
The documentary featuring Scott and Dr Jha will be broadcasted on Monday 15 February at 9pm on BBC One. The film shows how Stephen Fry and different people of all ages deal with bipolar. Scott, a chef from Lincolnshire, is living with the condition which affects his job and his family life. His first attempts to control the bipolar with medication resulted in the side-effects which led Scott to stop taking medication. In the documentary we meet Scott when he is willing to try medication again to save his job and more importantly improve the quality of his life as a father and a husband. We follow Scott at work and at his appointments with Dr Jha where they discuss treatment options and have an honest chat about possible side-effects.
Dr Jha said:
It was a great privilege to be a part of this documentary. Films like this play a vital role in reducing mental health stigma.
Many people with mental health problems successfully manage their condition thanks to therapy or medication and continue to live in their community with their families. But it is important that we engage service users in choosing the treatment that is right for them – only then they will be motivated to follow it through.
Scott said:
I’ve decided to take part in this film to show that suffering with mental health problems is quite common and there is no shame in living with bipolar. Hopefully seeing someone local on a national TV will encourage other people to speak up and seek help.
Additionally, as part of the “In the Mind” season, Dr Liz Elliott, Consultant Child Clinical Psychologist and Chantelle Irikok, Community Mental Health Nurse from LPFT will be featured in BBC East Midlands “Inside Out” report. They will be interviewed by a former service user and mental health vlogger Laura Nuttall and will talk about how young people move from child to adult mental health services.
