Mental health is hot topic

PUBLIC figures are praised for admitting to mental health problems, bullying, abuse, etc. It de-stigmatises the issues, makes others feel they are not alone. Fair enough.

But it’s beginning to seem as though misery is a celebrity fashion accessory which makes you more interesting when you have a book to sell or a film to promote. Charlotte Rampling has a book out titled Who I Am and while on the publicity rounds she has described a “dark sickness” that stopped her working in her 40s. Gillian Anderson reveals she was in therapy at the age of 14 and often felt too miserable to leave the house. The bestselling novelist Marian Keyes described her battle with suicidal thoughts on Desert Island Discs. Jane Fonda suddenly revealed the other day – having scoured her memory banks – that she was raped and abused as a child.

That these women have all achieved so much while dealing with these acute problems is admirable. But I worry that the young and impressionable (particularly young women) will believe that unless they have experienced horrors of their own they are simply not interesting as people. It is almost unheard of for any well-known individual to say: “I had a perfectly pleasant childhood thanks and I’m generally a glass half full sort of person. Next question?”

Misery sells. Moderate contentment doesn’t.