1100GMT: What's the attitude to mental illness in your country?
| 10:14 UK time, Thursday, 14 April 2011
It's one of the most read stories in the US and UK, Catherine Zeta Jones has been treated for Bipolar II disorder after struggling to cope with the stress of husband Michael Douglas's battle with throat cancer.
Bipolar disorder is the technical term for manic depression, and involves wild mood swings from high to low, though in Bipolar II the "up" moods never reach full mania.
Many people see the admission by Catherine Zeta Jones camp as a brave move, like the people posting here. For many they experience the stigma attached to mental illness.
Even today the WHYS team, who have been contacting people around the world to come on air and speak about their mental illness, have found it difficult. Some people don't feel comfortable with speaking about their illness openly.
LitleMJfam tweets,
Applause to catherine zeta-jones. She actually did what most celebrities wouldn't do. #Truth
Posting on our facebook page De La Chris Hearn says
As someone who has bipolar disorder, I have found that there doesn't seem to be anywhere where there is not a stigma attached to the illness and a lack of understanding. I lived in Turkey for two years and it was considered a weakness and not talked about. Here in Qatar, the care is far better, although I believe that social stigma is a bit stronger then my home country of Canada. In Canada, not nearly enough money is put into mental health care as needs to be. I don't think it is taken seriously enough, and the full impact on society is not understood.
What are attitudes like where you live? Is mental illness understood, feared or stigmatised? We'll be discussing on our early edition of WHYS.
