Being admitted to a psychiatric unit wasn’t on her agenda but that is exactly where writer and comedian Ruby Wax found herself.


Ruby’s been an advocate for greater mental health awareness for many years – in fact she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her efforts in this area – but in her recent book, I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, the star talks about how she’s grappled with her own ill health.


The book, which is written in her unique style, is a candid exploration of her lived experience and journey that she describes as being, at times, an intricate dance between laughter and concealed struggles confessing that she’d spent a lifetime creating a ‘front’ to give the illusion that all is well. “It wasn’t and it isn’t.”


Over the years Ruby has spoken openly about her condition. She once wrote, ‘I’m not bipolar, but I do have depression’. She’s also talked about her family, revealing how she comes from ‘a long line of ancestors with various flavours of mental illness’ and that she felt for her to have mental health issues seemed a ‘no brainer’.


However, in her book the 70 year old says that she was surprised that after being free from depression for 12 years, she ended up being admitted to an inpatient facility.


WHAT IS DEPRESSION?


Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when you’re depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition.


She refers to her depression as a ‘Big Dip – the black hole of diseases’. She recalls its return, saying: “It snuck up on me and when it did it struck hard.”


Ruby’s unparalleled honesty shines through as the book delves into the depths of her experiences, disclosing treatment details, therapist notes, and her own introspective thoughts and reflections.


Asked about why she’d written the book Ruby told a national newpaper journalist that while she hates ‘digging up all the horror shows’ from her past she realises that ‘the only way to deal with depression is to face the music.’


They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms. Depression is not a sign of weakness or something you can ‘snap out of’ by ‘pulling yourself together.’


The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people with depression can make a full recovery.


Source: nhs.uk/mental-health


I spent a lifetime creating a ‘front’ to give the illusion that all is well. It wasn’t and it isn’t.