BrownCore
05-08-2009, 04:13 PM
Has anyone else seen this great documentary by British comedian/actor Stephen Fry?
It's on a well-known video site, and it is a great educational piece to share with your friends and loved ones.
I highly recommend giving it a watch.
It's on a well-known video site, and it is a great educational piece to share with your friends and loved ones.
I highly recommend giving it a watch.
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Bunnylover
05-08-2009, 06:28 PM
No, but I just looked it up and it looks really interesting. Thanks for pointing it out.
dreams in neon
05-08-2009, 07:03 PM
I saw it, but to be honest, I didn't understand it.
Could someone explain what it's about? What does Stephen Fry discuss in the video? I know the video is about bipolar, but what aspects of bipolar does he talk about?
I couldn't hear the video well enough to understand Stephen's accent (no offense -- it's one of the difficulties I have due to my deafness).
Could someone explain what it's about? What does Stephen Fry discuss in the video? I know the video is about bipolar, but what aspects of bipolar does he talk about?
I couldn't hear the video well enough to understand Stephen's accent (no offense -- it's one of the difficulties I have due to my deafness).
BrownCore
05-08-2009, 10:02 PM
The video really puts a human face on the condition as opposed to some list of symptoms on a website that mean little to nothing to someone just skimming over them.
The documentary includes a lot of personal stories and struggles with the condition..be it celebrities or doctors themselves. Also family members of people who have/do suffer from the condition.
They talk about drug abuse, manic episodes, as well as the crushing lows of depression...and appropriately, suicide.
They also discuss the different treatments for the condition, including ECT and hospitalization.
The film seems really geared towards the stigma that we all know far too much about.
The documentary includes a lot of personal stories and struggles with the condition..be it celebrities or doctors themselves. Also family members of people who have/do suffer from the condition.
They talk about drug abuse, manic episodes, as well as the crushing lows of depression...and appropriately, suicide.
They also discuss the different treatments for the condition, including ECT and hospitalization.
The film seems really geared towards the stigma that we all know far too much about.
dreams in neon
05-08-2009, 10:17 PM
The video really puts a human face on the condition as opposed to some list of symptoms on a website that mean little to nothing to someone just skimming over them.
The documentary includes a lot of personal stories and struggles with the condition..be it celebrities or doctors themselves. Also family members of people who have/do suffer from the condition.
They talk about drug abuse, manic episodes, as well as the crushing lows of depression...and appropriately, suicide.
They also discuss the different treatments for the condition, including ECT and hospitalization.
The film seems really geared towards the stigma that we all know far too much about.
Thanks for the description. I'm going to take another look at it. Is there a written transcript I can read as well since I have difficulty understanding Stephen's accent?
The documentary includes a lot of personal stories and struggles with the condition..be it celebrities or doctors themselves. Also family members of people who have/do suffer from the condition.
They talk about drug abuse, manic episodes, as well as the crushing lows of depression...and appropriately, suicide.
They also discuss the different treatments for the condition, including ECT and hospitalization.
The film seems really geared towards the stigma that we all know far too much about.
Thanks for the description. I'm going to take another look at it. Is there a written transcript I can read as well since I have difficulty understanding Stephen's accent?
Llama
05-09-2009, 02:43 AM
I actually saw this on Youtube. Who knows it still might be up there. It's worth a shot if you want to watch this great documentary.
Elf_Ears
05-10-2009, 09:33 AM
I am in the process of watching it in parts on ******* It is facscinating. But my brain fills up after 20 mins, so I am only watching it in bits. Easier to process. Though I am not as extreme as Stephen Fry, his story is ringing bells from my own life. And that is both frightening and affirming. There's always that conflict.
One thing that the docu is getting through to me: don't let my life become stressful. :dizzy: Keep demands at bay. Focus on the needs of my large family and that's it. Do things that de-stress, like playing cello, and writing. These are good creative outlets, and I am creative. This is something I like about bp.
I can't help but see my older sister in some of what Fry says. I wish she would seek help. I would love to know who she is treated. Untreated, she is dangerous. She feels "weird" and has some kind of social anxiety. But I must not dwell too much on her. Any hint that I think she's unhealthy causes her to shut me out. And at this point, though I must be wary of her, I also have a desire to maintain some kind of contact with her. I guess this is just sister-love. I cannot forget how kind and gentle she was with me when we were kids. She was a safe person I could go to, and she wasn't judgemental.
One thing that the docu is getting through to me: don't let my life become stressful. :dizzy: Keep demands at bay. Focus on the needs of my large family and that's it. Do things that de-stress, like playing cello, and writing. These are good creative outlets, and I am creative. This is something I like about bp.
I can't help but see my older sister in some of what Fry says. I wish she would seek help. I would love to know who she is treated. Untreated, she is dangerous. She feels "weird" and has some kind of social anxiety. But I must not dwell too much on her. Any hint that I think she's unhealthy causes her to shut me out. And at this point, though I must be wary of her, I also have a desire to maintain some kind of contact with her. I guess this is just sister-love. I cannot forget how kind and gentle she was with me when we were kids. She was a safe person I could go to, and she wasn't judgemental.
dreams in neon
05-10-2009, 02:32 PM
I just finished watching this documentary on a popular Internet site and was very impressed by what I saw. (Note that I have good and bad days when it comes to my hearing. Today I was able to understand the video better than I have in the past.) Prior to this, I only saw 20 minutes of Part I, so I had no idea how in-depth this video went into bipolar. I could also relate to everything that was discussed especially in regards to the use of credit cards since I racked up quite a bit of debt during several manic episodes by purchasing hundreds of music CDs. Long story short, it was as if I were watching a video of my own life.
windimeria2000
05-11-2009, 01:52 AM
I am taking college classes as some of you may know and I took Developmental Psychology. I was in class learning about different disorders and it just made me want to cry cause I knew I had been through those things (depression, thoughts of suicide). I kinda mourned for myself a few minutes and wanted to burst into tears, but I held it and finished the class. After class I was still thinking about it and decided I was pleased because Bipolar was getting looked at in a college setting. Now after reading this post I feel even more graditude for those advocating Bipolar. I think it is good that people besides college students are learning about Bipolar. Maybe the sterotypes will get the right information.
dreams in neon
05-11-2009, 01:59 AM
I am taking college classes as some of you may know and I took Developmental Psychology. I was in class learning about different disorders and it just made me want to cry cause I knew I had been through those things (depression, thoughts of suicide). I kinda mourned for myself a few minutes and wanted to burst into tears, but I held it and finished the class. After class I was still thinking about it and decided I was pleased because Bipolar was getting looked at in a college setting. Now after reading this post I feel even more graditude for those advocating Bipolar. I think it is good that people besides college students are learning about Bipolar. Maybe the sterotypes will get the right information.
I agree. I took a course in the symptomatology of mental illness and we discussed bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, Borderline, OCD, anxiety disorders and a host of other mental illnesses/conditions/disorders. It was a great experience. I told my professor that I suffered from severe depression (I wasn't diagnosed with bipolar at the time) and mentioned how much I appreciated her course. Out of all the psych courses I took at my university, this was the most interesting and enlightening.
By the way, when we discussed bipolar, it wasn't in a general sense. We talked about BPI, BPII, BP NOS, cyclothymia and schizoaffective disorder.
I agree. I took a course in the symptomatology of mental illness and we discussed bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, Borderline, OCD, anxiety disorders and a host of other mental illnesses/conditions/disorders. It was a great experience. I told my professor that I suffered from severe depression (I wasn't diagnosed with bipolar at the time) and mentioned how much I appreciated her course. Out of all the psych courses I took at my university, this was the most interesting and enlightening.
By the way, when we discussed bipolar, it wasn't in a general sense. We talked about BPI, BPII, BP NOS, cyclothymia and schizoaffective disorder.
Llama
05-11-2009, 02:06 AM
I have taken many psychology classes as well. My favorite one was abnormal psychology in which we discussed the mental illnesses. It was very informative. This was also before I was diagnosed, but obviously I knew something was very wrong.
dreams in neon
05-11-2009, 02:09 AM
I have taken many psychology classes as well. My favorite one was abnormal psychology in which we discussed the mental illnesses. It was very informative. This was also before I was diagnosed, but obviously I knew something was very wrong.
Llama,
It's ironic you should say that you suspected something was wrong because I've heard many students who have taken psych courses say the same thing.
When I heard about bipolar in my class, BPI and schizoaffective sounded exactly like me, but I was afraid to mention anything to my professor about it. She was always very kind, but I don't know what I could have done since I was already taking meds (Lithium and Paxil) for my depression.
In looking back, I should have asked my pdoc for more information about bipolar, but that idea never occurred to me. I was doing okay anyways thanks to my meds and the mania I experienced didn't cause too many problems until December 2004-March 2006.
Llama,
It's ironic you should say that you suspected something was wrong because I've heard many students who have taken psych courses say the same thing.
When I heard about bipolar in my class, BPI and schizoaffective sounded exactly like me, but I was afraid to mention anything to my professor about it. She was always very kind, but I don't know what I could have done since I was already taking meds (Lithium and Paxil) for my depression.
In looking back, I should have asked my pdoc for more information about bipolar, but that idea never occurred to me. I was doing okay anyways thanks to my meds and the mania I experienced didn't cause too many problems until December 2004-March 2006.
Bunnylover
05-11-2009, 02:08 PM
Can someone tell me where online to find this? (or is that against the rules) I can't find it for some reason but would like to watch it.
dreams in neon
05-11-2009, 02:12 PM
Can someone tell me where online to find this? (or is that against the rules) I can't find it for some reason but would like to watch it.
We aren't allowed to post websites on the board, so I would suggest that you do an Internet search for "The Secret Life of The Manic Depressive + Stephen Fry."
We aren't allowed to post websites on the board, so I would suggest that you do an Internet search for "The Secret Life of The Manic Depressive + Stephen Fry."
Elf_Ears
05-15-2009, 10:04 AM
Just finished it. Took me about 4 days, watching about 20 mins each time. Really good, though it dealt mostly with bpI and I was sorta hoping they would touch on bpII. It was still well worth watching.