‘At crisis points in my life I have just withdrawn’
MP OPENS UP ABOUT HIS LONG BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION
MP Ivan Lewis has laid bare his battle with years of depression in a brutally honest account to launch a new campaign.
Opening up for the first time about his mental health, the veteran MP referenced parental divorce, failed relationships and ‘prolonged periods of loneliness.’
Mr Lewis is an ex-mental health support worker and health minister who has championed mental health awareness. He is currently suspended from the Labour Party over accusations of sexual harassment.
He said: “At crisis points in my life I have withdrawn from all human contact, been unable to get out of bed, obsessed over past incidents in a futile quest to change them, felt unable to experience any joy and lost all hope for the future.
“I’ve focused on the negatives in my life and refused to accept the many positives. I’ve often panicked at the thought of any human contact while being scared of being alone. Every conversation, however brief, has required tremendous effort. At weekends and during holiday periods I have spent long periods alone, getting increasingly depressed and wasting numerous precious hours in bed. Sometimes, I have been distant with my family, unable to put on a pretence of wellbeing. During most of these periods of depression I have felt unable to reach out for personal or professional support.”
The Bury South MP’s struggles will be revealed in a highly-personal blog due to be published this week to support the launch of a campaign to improve mental health services in Bury. New figures revealed by Bury council’s public health team claim issues around mental health affect 2,500 children and young people in the town, with more than 11 per cent of over-65s said to be suffering from mental illness.
Father-of-two Mr Lewis, 51, said statistics showed the percentage of Bury residents with long-term mental health problems was 7.2pc, far higher than the national average.
The campaign involves the launch of an online petition to the government calling for a range of changes to boost services, including a transformation of child and adolescent mental health support services.
Mr Lewis said mental health had been a ‘Cinderella service with inadequate levels of funding for too long’ and said Bury was under-funded to the tune of £10 million.
He said he had thought ‘long and hard’ about publicly revealing his story, but said: “I have concluded that I have a duty to do so if I’m serious about encouraging others to do the same. We must shift the system from treating people at the point when they are sick in hospitals, to early intervention and prevention in the community.”
Mr Lewis, who was first elected in 1997, said he recognised he has had ‘many advantages’ not available to others with mental health difficulties, pointing to his family, vocation and income. But he said that during most periods of depression, he has felt unable to reach out.
He added: “Because of my public role I felt unable to trust even close friends in case my confidence was breached and my reputation damaged. I was reluctant to seek professional help.
“Thankfully, if belatedly, through the kindness of others, some longstanding friends and some new friends I have discovered a new way.
“There is no right way because every individual is different. But some ingredients of recovery may be medication for a time, counselling or therapy which works for you.”
● For details of the campaign visit www.change.org/p/secretary-of-statefor-health-and-social-caretalkingaboutmentalhealth.