I quit politics over my mental health struggle, says ex-MSP
‘Binged food and drank alone’ ‘Courageous, honest and raw’
A FORMER SNP minister has revealed he quit politics because his mental health suffered – and said he had once attempted suicide.
Marco Biagi, who served as local government minister, spoke out about his struggles to mark World Mental Health Day on Thursday.
The 37-year-old, who stepped down from Holyrood in 2016, said he had told Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney that he was quitting for ‘health reasons’ but did not go into detail.
He described how he had ‘binged on food’ and ‘drank alone’.
He also disclosed that he had been diagnosed as suffering from major depression in 2002, and had tried to kill himself that Christmas.
He said he was ‘suicidal on many occasions throughout 2002 and 2003’ and was held by the police for a night in July 2003 ‘because I was suspected of being a risk to myself’. His mental health improved and he was elected to the Scottish parliament in 2011.
He said: ‘My spirits had never been higher. It seemed like the ultimate disproving of all the things I had thought those years before when I was sure nothing would ever get better.’
But he said routines that had previously helped him were ‘disrupted’ by his new life at Holyrood. He added: ‘Listening to evidence of child neglect in an education committee inquiry, for example, was harrowing.
‘It took a toll. I began to lapse into old patterns.
‘I always kept my suit jacket on and wore coloured shirts because I didn’t want anyone seeing my arms.
‘I binged on food. I drank alone. One night at home, I vomited while passed out and may well have avoided choking on it by the luck of having fallen on my side rather than my back.’
The former MSP, who began a PhD in political sciences at Yale University in 2016, opened up about his mental health on social media on Wednesday, saying he had ‘never known exactly how much this was all an open secret around Holyrood’.
He added: ‘My mental health was the real reason I stepped down. I thought I owed the people I represented more than I could deliver. I owed my colleagues more, too.
‘In private, I told the FM and DFM that I was stepping down for health reasons, but didn’t go into detail. Would you?
‘I’m sorry for not being more candid in public at the time.’
Explaining his reasons for making his experiences public now, he said: ‘I feel we are finally getting to a place where we can talk about this, where we can accept serious ill health is something that can affect us all.
‘I went from as low as you can go to accomplishing things that, in my bed in Ninewells Hospital [in Dundee], I never dreamed I’d be able to do.
‘Sure, others have done more and still others would do different things. But this has been a life worth living. All lives are.’
His tweets prompted a sympathetic response from former SNP colleagues and others at Holyrood. Mr Swinney told the former MSP: ‘Didn’t think I could have more respect for you than I did before, but I do now. Take care.’
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said his story was ‘so powerful’.
She told Mr Biagi: ‘You have achieved so much in and out of politics. But tonight alone you’ve undoubtedly given hope and strength to many.’
Scottish Labour health spokesman Monica Lennon said: ‘This is really powerful and courageous. Best wishes to you, Marco.’
Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson – who last year revealed she had battled with depression, self-harming and suicidal thoughts in her teenage years – said Mr Biagi’s messages were ‘brave, courageous, honest and raw’.
She added that they would ‘undoubtedly be of help and support to others’.
For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for more details.