Thursday, June 06, 2013

Surprising, but it shouldn't be

Amazing bit of news about Stephen Fry, from whose personality -- as you see it presented -- would never make you think he was troubled.

Stephen Fry tried to commit suicide a year ago, he confessed during a podcast taping. During an interview with comic Richard Herring on his popular Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, Fry said that he "took a huge number of pills and a huge amount of vodka. The mixture of them made my body convulse so much that I broke four ribs – but I was still unconscious." Fry was on location at the time
Fry's actually always been open in interviews about his battle with manic depression, but still he's brave in being open about it.

Mental Illness is such a insidious thing.


4 comments:

feralcrj said...

the man is a treasure, and yet because of his illness, he cannot enjoy just being him. and yes, it's an illness, not a defect, not a character flaw, not a lack of moral fiber, he's a man with an illness, and a man of genius.

we're lucky to have him in the world.
and he's worthy of a great deal of respect for his honesty, and his integrity.

good on him. i wish him many slices of joy and wonder as the years continue on.

donnah said...

My son and I watch QI and have seen Fry's Travelogue across America, and it saddens me to know that he might have died. Mental illness is insidious and cruel, and I applaud Mr Fry for speaking candidly about it, and for continuing to bring the issues of mental health and disorders to the forefront in documentaries and interviews.

It would be, speaking selfishly, a terrible loss for him to succeed at suicide.Unfortunately, I have an uneasy feeling he will try again.

Athenawise said...

I echo the good comments here. Fry is such a droll, intelligent presence, one would never know the demons he must battle all his life. I wish him the strength to do so.

Anonymous said...

I've seen him go into public and be swarmed by well-wishers, and with good reason. I'm hoping for the best for him.