Stephen Fry says his husband has become an expert on his mental health
Stephen Fry has opened up about his mental health challenges.
The writer and actor credits his husband, Elliot Spencer, with helping him deal with mental health challenges.
Fry says his husband of two years has become an “expert” at working out whether his low moods are natural or linked to his ongoing mental health issues.
In a new interview for the Heads Together campaign, he said: “My best friend of all, my husband Elliot, he’s become very expert in detecting when my moods are more than just being annoyed because I’ve locked myself out of the house to a genuine fall in mood.”
The performer was diagnosed with bipolar disorder some years ago, and in 2012 attempted to take his own life while filming a documentary in Uganda.
Since then he has tried to speak out more often, highlighting the challenges faced by being bipolar.
Speaking to his psychiatrist, Bill, in the new film, he said of his suicide attempt: “It had been very tough and something had been building up inside of me.
“I can recall talking out loud; ‘It’s pointless, it’s pointless’.
“Everything about my life had come to it’s end.”
The 59-year-old continues: “I find it very very difficult to look at myself. There are times when, having done the amount of TV and stuff I’ve done, there are times when I’m watching television and my ugly mug will pop up and I can see how unhappy I am.”
Heads Together aims to get people discussing their mental health, and his backed by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and celebrities like Andrew Flintoff and Professor Green.
Fry and his husband announced their marriage in January 2015.
The Daily Mail was subsequantly slammed for referring to Stephen Fry’s husband with inverted commas.
