Derbyshire: I cried at having depression
BBC broadcaster tells Telegraph event how she coped with illness after feeling ‘overwhelmed’
Victoria Derbyshire, the broadcaster, has told how she took time off work to deal with depression earlier this year. At The Telegraph’s Women Mean Business Live event, she revealed that she broke down in front of her doctor when she was diagnosed. She told Telegraph writer Bryony Gordon: “I cried, because when someone’s nice and kind to you, you cry. We walked through things. I said I would like some antidepressants, and she agreed, and she said take two weeks off work.”
VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE, the BBC presenter, has revealed her private battle with depression for the first time in an emotional interview with The Telegraph’s Bryony Gordon.
The award-winning broadcaster said she burst into tears in front of her doctor after admitting she could not sleep, was feeling anxious and doubted whether she was any good at her job.
Derbyshire, 51, a breast cancer survivor, spoke out during The Telegraph’s Women Mean Business Live event in London last night.
She told the audience of more than 500 of the country’s most influential business leaders that she had experienced two bouts of depression, one of which was 10 years ago when she had her own show on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Discussing her second experience of depression earlier this year, which was linked to the menopause, she said: “I was getting to a point where I was overwhelmed, and waking up at 2am, then not sleeping between 2am and 4.30am when I usually get up. I was absolutely knackered and getting slightly anxious. I thought, ‘I’m not good at my job anymore’. I went to the doctor’s, and said I wasn’t sleeping, and after I’d given the long list of symptoms, I said, ‘But I don’t think I’m depressed’. The doctor said, ‘I think you are’.
“I cried, because when someone’s nice and kind to you, you cry. We walked through things I could do to get me out of this period. I said I would like some antidepressants, and she agreed, and she said take two weeks off work.”
Describing the moments after being told she had depression, Derbyshire said: “Having got back from the doctor’s, I told my sister, because we’re close, and she said, ‘Are you sure it’s not the menopause?’ I thought, ‘Yeah, it could be. I’m the right kind of age’.
“I rang the doctor back and said ‘Could it be the menopause?’, and she
‘I cried, because when someone’s kind to you, you cry. We walked through things I could do to get me out of this period’
said, ‘Yeah, it could be, but take the antidepressants and you’ll be fine’.”
The mother of two, who is no longer taking antidepressants, said she was reluctant to speak to her boss about taking time off because no one discussed mental health in the workplace. But her husband convinced her to compromise and take a week off.
She said: “So I rang my immediate boss, and said, ‘I’m going to have to have the next week off ’. She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I’m depressed’.
“She was lovely and kind, and said ‘Of course, you must. What can I do to help?’ When I put the phone down, I was absolutely relieved.”
Derbyshire said she slept for “hours and hours” during her week off and felt refreshed when she returned.
“You’ve got to tell someone, ask for help, open up,” she added. “No matter how anxious you are, people are kind – just tell someone, and they’ll help you.”
Derbyshire was diagnosed with stage two lobular breast cancer in 2015. She had a mastectomy and chemotherapy, finishing her treatment in 2016.
She told the audience she has a knack for handling moments of crisis, and remained calm, despite thinking she was going to die.
The broadcaster, who married her long-term partner Mark Sandell last year, said her thoughts were now focused on her heavy workload in the next two weeks.
“I’m slightly underwhelmed at the prospect of a general election, and the work that would involve. It’s a bummer that it’s right before Christmas,” she said.
Asked if she had any tips for managing stress in the workplace, she said: “I have no ground rules, and accept it will be full-on and travelling all over the country. But it’s a temporary period of time, and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
At The Telegraph’s Women Mean Business Live event, scores of inspirational women lifted the lid on their secrets to career success. The speakers included Samantha Cameron, the fashion brand founder and wife of the former prime minister, Tina Brown, the media mogul, and Sadie Frost, the actor and film producer.