PAINTED SMILE BEHIND THE

By Steve Murphy

Comedy star Ruby Wax has spoken candidly about her own health struggles.

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.

WHAT IS NEUROMODULATION?

Neuromodulation is the name given to different medical procedures that can change the activity happening in the brain through directly stimulating it in several ways.

The aim of neuromodulation is to help improve symptoms of mental illness (such as depression) by changing how some areas in the brain are working.

The most common type of neuromodulation is repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This is referred to as ‘rTMS’.

Source: Royal College of Psychiatrists rcpsych.ac.uk

Continued from p19.

In I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, Ruby shares how she underwent a form of neuromodulation – a treatment called repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). This innovative therapy involves magnetic pulses stimulating nerve cells associated with mood control and depression.

According to health service specialists, rTMS provides a solution for people whose antidepressant medications and psychological treatments have failed to provide satisfactory relief.

Mersey Care is one of a small number of NHS trusts equipped and able to provide this treatment. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Noir Thomas explains: “We’re very proud that we are one of only a handful of NHS Neuromodulation services nationally set up to work with people who contend with difficult to treat depression. In fact, we are the only service in the north of England with a dedicated, purpose built suite. The good news is that we’ve already treated more than 60 people, and we can report higher than expected positive clinical outcomes.”

NEED HELP?

• Help yourself – our self help guide on depression can be read online, downloaded or watched as a video.

merseycare.nhs.uk