YouTube Clip of the Week: Stephen Fry, “The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive”
When I lived in England, one of my favorite actors that I’d hear on the radio or watch on TV was Stephen Fry, known best in America as the quinessential butler Jeeves to Hugh Laurie’s bumbling Wooster. I thought him one of the most elegant of actors with classic English self-control, never at a loss for razor sharp sarcasm. Little did I and just about everyone else knew that he had manic depression (bipolar disorder). He even tried to commit suicide when he starred in a successful play in London’s West End.
He and the BBC made a documentary about manic depression in 2006 which everyone else in the world seems to have heard of but me. Keep in mind that “bipolar disorder” is not a common term in England. They prefer to use the older name, “manic depression.” Some people in America find that name derrogatory, but there is nothing mean implied in the use.
Even if you don’t know who Stephen Fry is, you can still trust him as a host into what it’s like to be a manic depressive. He turns a lot of complicated concepts into basic English (British English, as oppossed to American English, but you’ll soon get the drift, Yanks.)
Joining Stephen Fry in this clip is British pop star Robbie Williams, who is one of the most recognized celebrities in the UK. He has major depression and makes a vivid contrast to Fry’s manic depression. Kudos to whoever nabbed this documentary and put it up on YouTube.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
[...] Studies on identical twins (with identical genetic makeup) raised has shown that both twins wind up with depression a whopping 76% of the time. One starts manifesting symptoms and then the other one does, too. If both parents have bipolar disorder, then all of their children have a 50 - 75% chance of also going through the hell that is bipolar disorder. [...]