Latest news with #bipolardisorder
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Heston Blumenthal reveals impact of being sectioned in BBC bipolar documentary
Heston Blumenthal has spoken of his struggles with mania and the impact it had on the people he loves, 18 months after he was sectioned. The 59-year-old chef, known for his Channel 4 shows Heston's Fantastical Food and Heston's Feasts, was hospitalised in November 2023 following a severe manic episode. He was subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, Blumenthal is sharing his story in BBC documentary Heston: My Life with Bipolar, airing 19 June on BBC Two at 8pm. Filmed over six months, Blumenthal reflects on how bipolar disorder has shaped both his personal life and professional success. Blumenthal was sectioned after he showed his wife, French businesswoman Melanie Ceysson, a drawing of a gun he'd hallucinated. Fearing he was a danger to himself, Ceysson contacted the mayor of their village in France for urgent help. Soon after, police, firefighters and a doctor arrived. Blumenthal was sedated and spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital, followed by six weeks of intensive treatment at a specialist clinic. "It was a dark period," he recalled. "The psychiatrist diagnosed me as bipolar; it was a surprise. I started looking back more and more to my life pre being sectioned, and how come it's taken me until 57 years of life to discover I have bipolar." The intervention followed months of increasingly erratic behaviour. Now stabilised on medication, Blumenthal says those manic phases are behind him. "When I first came out of the hospital in the beginning, it felt like I was slightly zombie-fied from the medication. I've changed a lot, in the sense of my massive highs and lows have been ironed out. I'm much calmer, I don't have those manic phases," he explained. "Would I have sectioned myself? No way [but] she had to do it for me and for herself as well. Looking back at it, the alternative was not an option because I wouldn't be here anymore." Bipolar disorder involves extreme mood swings, which Blumenthal says often fuelled his work. At times, his productivity felt "unstoppable". "The depression [gave] way to what I now recognise as periods of mania … with hindsight, when I was in a manic state, there were so many ideas," the chef, best known for his experimental dishes including snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, shared. He added: "I had these feelings of grandiosity or like Superman. I believed that I could change the world." It was during those periods that he developed some of his most daring and unconventional culinary ideas. But by 2020, the mood swings were becoming more frequent – and more severe. During the height of his career, the chef said he became "a hamster on a wheel," and self-medicated with cocaine. He explained: "I didn't realise I was self-medicating at the time ... The more time goes on since I've come out of the hospital, the more I can see how extreme those [manic episodes] were." Also in the documentary, Blumenthal revisits some of his past television appearances, offering a stark glimpse into his mental state at the time. Watching a 2019 episode of the cooking show Crazy Delicious, he recalled being in a "dark place." "I was probably quite overly depressed then," he said. "I thought, 'I wondered if there was a gun here, would I use it?' There wasn't, and then I thought of other ways of ending it and decided at the end that I wasn't ready for that." In sharp contrast, he also rewatched a 2020 BBC interview where he discussed using robots in the kitchen, speaking rapidly and using surreal metaphors throughout. The clip was difficult for him to watch. "To live with me, if I was talking like that all the time, that brings tears to my eyes, of the thought of what they had to put up with," he said. "The potential that I might have upset, troubled, worried, emotionally harmed the people that love me and that I love." The chef is a father of four: Jack, 32, Jessie, 30, and Joy, 28, from his first marriage to ex-wife Zanna; and Shea-Rose, eight, with his former partner, Stephanie Gouevia. In the documentary, he sits down with his son Jack to discuss what life was like before his bipolar diagnosis. "We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad, and we weren't able to have one. It was horrible and it was constant,' Jack recalled. "We'd plan it three weeks in advance, getting prepared just to see you for half an hour. And there was nothing I could do to help you." Heston wiped away a tear and apologised to his son. Jack, in turn, acknowledged that he now understands his father's behaviour was the result of an undiagnosed mental health condition. Blumenthal now serves as an official ambassador for Bipolar UK, a charity that estimates around 1.3 million adults in the UK live with the condition. In the documentary, he raises concerns about the lack of adequate support and resources for people living with bipolar disorder. At one point, he meets a mother whose daughter, Rebecca, died by suicide. "I was lucky in that with my sectioning, I was being monitored and afterwards I had support," he explained. "But with the nature of this condition, if there isn't the care, the support network around individuals with bipolar, then people like Rebecca will take their lives. The longer it takes to get this sorted out, the more lives will be lost." Blumenthal also admitted that he initially worried medication might dull his imagination or take away his creativity, fears that, he now says, were unfounded. He concluded: "I still have bipolar, and I had bipolar before, I just don't have those manic states. The peaks and my manic highs have shrunk and the depths of the lows have risen, but I'm still Heston." Read more about Heston Blumenthal: Heston Blumenthal's wife 'saved his life' by having him sectioned for bipolar disorder (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read) Mood swings fuelled Heston Blumenthal's genius. But the highs got higher and the lows got darker (BBC News, 5-min read) Heston Blumenthal's 'unfiltered' story after life-changing diagnosis (Yorkshire Live, 2-min read)
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
From snail porridge to psychosis, Heston Blumenthal on the trauma of bipolar
In 2023, while at his home in France, Heston Blumenthal was sectioned. In Heston: My Life With Bipolar (BBC Two), a remarkably frank film in which the chef lays bare the workings of his mind, Blumenthal revisits this distressing event. But he doesn't just talk about it. Blumenthal plays himself in a reconstruction, acting out the moment he tried to fight off the policemen, doctor, and firemen who had been called there at his wife's request to take him to a psychiatric hospital. So this is not an ordinary documentary in which the director asks questions and the subject answers them. It is a deeply personal film made with some of the creativity that made Blumenthal famous. And it is based around a central question that preoccupies him: now that Blumenthal is on medication to damp down his manic highs – as well as saving him from the terrible lows which come with bipolar disorder – will that creativity desert him? It is an unusual focus in a programme about mental illness, but being unusual was what made Blumenthal a star in the first place. He was always a chef fizzing with ideas. Remember the bacon and egg ice cream, the snail porridge? Or the time he attempted to perfect the crispy skin on a Peking duck by using a petrol station tyre pump? In the film, he represents his 'kid in a sweet shop' mentality with a scene in which sweets rain down on his head. But by 2021, two years before his diagnosis, it was evident that something was very wrong. The film includes footage of a BBC interview in which, responding to a simple question, he launches into a mile-a-minute riff about the evolution of humanity. According to the programme, 1.3m people in the UK have bipolar disorder. It can take years to secure a diagnosis, and the care can be dangerously lacking; Blumenthal met Natalie, the mother of 22-year-old trainee paramedic Rebecca McLellan who died by suicide after failing to get the right support. He now has his condition under control, although the medication he takes has slowed his speech and he has a fragile air, no longer the swashbuckling chef. In the grip of a manic episode, Blumenthal believed he could communicate telepathically with his dog and solve the world's water crisis. His wife, Melanie Ceysson, felt compelled to have him sectioned after he began having hallucinations, believing there was a gun on the table in front of him. 'Bipolar had progressed to a point where I was a danger to myself before anyone raised the alarm,' he says now. 'Perhaps my reputation for energy and creativity made people less likely to question my manic highs.' There is no attempt to sugarcoat Blumenthal's story and the effect it has had on those around him. In perhaps the programme's most brutally honest moment, he sits down with Jack, one of his children. Jack says that dealing with their father could be horrible. 'We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad. You didn't want it. You didn't want to know anyone's thoughts,' Jack says. Was that entirely down to Blumenthal's illness? Top chefs are notoriously driven. But he is clearly in a better place now, and able to shine a light on the subject in a way that could be helpful to others.
Irish Times
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Heston: My Life with Bipolar: Gripping account of celebrity chef's journey from denial to diagnosis
In the UK , it is estimated that some 1.3 million people have bipolar disorder – more than have dementia. The statistics are presumably much the same in Ireland and yet the condition remains taboo and largely undiscussed. For that reason, it never occurred to celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal that he might have the disorder when he began to experience manic episodes several years ago. While he suspected he was neurodivergent, the word 'bipolar' never crossed his mind. How little he knew, he says in the gripping and gruelling Heston: My Life with Bipolar (BBC Two, Thursday 8pm) – until the episodes became severe, and in late 2023, he hallucinated that he had a gun. This was in France, where he lives with his wife, the French entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson. 'I was trying to fight my way out of it. Two people held my arms down,' he says. 'I was struggling a lot. Then I saw the doctor pull out this whacking great syringe.' Eighteen months later, Blumenthal is on a heavy regime of medication that has led to weight gain and resulted in his speech slowing down to a meditative not-quite-slur. He hasn't had any more of the extreme shifts in mood and energy that are a signature of bipolar disorder. And yet there this isn't quite a happy story with a happy ending. One of the themes of this fascinating and admirably honest film is his fear that the drugs that have stabilised his mind may have snuffed out the creativity that drove him in his early career. As foodies will know, Blumenthal was at the cutting edge of the cutting edge as proprietor of the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray (a village in Berkshire rather than the Irish seaside town, as I was disappointed to discover after many years of assuming Wicklow was at the white-hot frontline of gastronomic innovation). Snail porridge, bacon and egg ice cream – he was the master of the non sequitur menu. READ MORE Blumenthal had long suspected his brain was different. He compares the zing of inspiration to a drizzle of sweets pitter-pattering down on his head. In 2023, the downpour became a deluge, and he was overwhelmed. Looking back, it is obvious he was hurtling towards a crash. However, he had been too blinded by success to recognise the danger signs. 'I ended up becoming a hamster on a wheel. I self-medicated with cocaine. I didn't realise I was self-medicating at the time. I was absolutely self-medicating. I knew I had a busy head. I didn't know if it was more busy than other people's heads,' he says. 'I looked up if I was autistic. I didn't even think about bipolar.' In one painful scene, he is shown a TV interview he gave shortly before his breakdown. The journalist says hello, and Blumenthal, dialling in over Zoom, embarks on a 10-minute stream-of-consciousness monologue. It's as if every nerve ending in his brain is firing at once, and it's all coming straight out of his mouth. 'I want to put the inside-out back into the outside-in. I want to put the being back into the human,' he says. The interviewer smiles nervously. 'He's asked me one question,' says Blumenthal today. ''How are you? That's it.' A more self-involved celebrity would make it all about themselves. To his credit, Blumenthal moves on from his own struggles to address the failure of the British health service to meet the needs of those who are bipolar. He calls on the mother of Rebecca McLellan, a paramedic from Ipswich who died by suicide after being denied the medical care she required. In another moving scene, Blumenthal meets his son Jack, who talks about how difficult it was to be around his father. 'We'd plan it three weeks in advance, getting prepared just to see you for half an hour,' says Jack, who now runs his own restaurant. 'And there was nothing I could do to help you.' Blumenthal's face crumples, and he struggles to hold back tears. 'I'm sorry,' he says. It is one of many hugely emotive sequences in a documentary that bravely traces the chef's journey from denial to diagnosis. Its most significant achievement is that, just a few minutes in, the viewers begins to see Blumenthal not as a famous foodie in fancy spectacles – but a vulnerable individual who desperately needs support.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Heston: My Life With Bipolar review – some of the most agonisingly honest TV in years
The diagnosis around which Heston: My Life With Bipolar revolves is so recent that, when we meet him, the doctors are still adjusting his medication. It was only 18 months ago that police, firefighters and a man with a syringe arrived at his front door to have him sectioned at his wife's request. 'She had to do it,' he says. 'Or I wouldn't be here.' He woke up in what he would learn was a psychiatric hospital and stayed there for two months before returning home with his new medications as one of the 1.3 million people in the UK living with bipolar disorder. Heston is Heston Blumenthal, of course, who made his name as the 'molecular gastronomist' who invented snail porridge, bacon-and-egg ice-cream, sardine sorbet and a plethora of other extraordinary dishes that made him and his restaurant the Fat Duck in Bray famous, kickstarted a career as a TV presenter and turned him into a world-renowned brand. The first third or so of the hour-long documentary chronicles him getting used to his diagnosis and wondering how much his hitherto-unsuspected condition – he thought attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was the reason he 'always had something bubbling in his mind', as the Fat Duck's head chef, Garrey Dawson, puts it – has shaped his life. It is a condition characterised by mood swings. 'The lowest low is terrible and can include suicidality,' explains Dr Trudi Seneviratne of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, while the highs 'are terribly high' and can encompass psychotic delusions. But can the element of mania also be responsible for someone's artistry or creativity? And if so, can it be lost – must it be lost – in the pursuit of mental stability and safety? Blumenthal remembers years of elation without depression: 'Like a kid in a sweetshop … ideas rained down.' But from about 2020, the mood swings became more severe and he wrestled with the darker side of his condition. In the lead-up to being sectioned, he hallucinated a gun. 'I was inquisitive,' he says. Now he wants to find an equilibrium and consolidate successes rather than seek more. 'Can you sit with mediocrity?' says Dr Nick Prior, a psychiatrist with bipolar disorder. Blumenthal thinks he can. He also wants to be 'a consistent, loving husband and father', which leads to a conversation with his son Jack, also a chef, that is one of the most dreadfully honest and painful things I have seen on TV in years. Pent-up emotions pour forth as Jack remembers 'just wanting relaxing conversation with our dad and not being allowed to have one … You didn't want to know anyone's thoughts. We'd have to hype ourselves up to come and see you … It was horrible and it was constant and there was nothing I could do to help you.' 'I'm so sorry,' says a horrified and tearful Blumenthal. 'I know,' says Jack. They hug, but it is not the wholehearted catharsis we have been conditioned to expect. It is awful. You can only hope that both men had enough influence over the final cut that its presence doesn't hurt them more. From there we step into the wider world and a postcode lottery for care. In the UK, you cannot get a bipolar diagnosis from anyone but a psychiatrist. There are 22 such professionals for every 100,000 people in Scotland, 17 in Wales and 16 in south-west England. The figures are indicative of the threadbare support that exists after diagnosis, too. Rebecca McLellan killed herself last year at 24, two years after her diagnosis, having begged for help that never came. Blumenthal meets her mother, Natalie, who shows him footage seemingly of Rebecca not being taken seriously at a crisis care unit. When she was later put on lithium, which requires careful supervision while it replaces previous medications, a further lack of help may have contributed to her death. 'Certainly, her suffering could have been less,' says Natalie, who even in her grief is so careful with Blumenthal's feelings and potential vulnerability that it fills you with awe. This is a standard-format documentary, but with a layer of skin removed. It probably serves the cause well and you hope Blumenthal doesn't regret it in times to come. It ends on a positive but realistic note. 'It's a process,' says his wife, Melanie, as they look to the future. 'But a good one.' Heston: My Life With Bipolar was on BBC Two and is available on BBC iPlayer In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Heston Blumenthal breaks down in tears and issues poignant apology as son reveals the devastating impact of his bipolar battle on family
Heston Blumenthal broke down in tears and apologised as his son revealed the devastating impact of his bipolar battle on their family. The popular TV chef, 59, is well known for presenting Channel 4 shows Heston's Fantastical Food and Heston's Feasts. Heston was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in November 2023 after he began experiencing hallucinations, mania and even suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels. The English chef and restaurateur's new BBC show, Heston: My Life With Bipolar, is set to hit screens on Thursday evening at 8pm and follows Heston as he explores the impact the condition has had on his life. Heston previously told how his wife French entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson, 36, made the brave choice to have him sectioned - which he has since said 'saved my life'. During the programme, Heston sits down with his son, Jack, 32, and the pair discuss the impact bipolar had on the chef's relationship with his children. Jack admitted the family 'found it difficult' but that it felt positive to know what caused the issues now Heston has been diagnosed. 'We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad, and we weren't allowed to have one,' Jack said. Heston interjected: 'Because I just didn't stop talking...' His son agreed and added: 'You didn't want to know anyone's thoughts, I just don't think you gave a s**t.' Jack confessed the condition made it difficult to speak and interact with his father. He explained: 'It always started off really well for a few minutes and then it just turned... I had to walk away sometimes, I had to go 'we're not doing it' and every time we tried to hype ourselves up to come and see you.' 'I'm so sorry,' Heston said, as he looked emotional. Jack revealed the amount of preparation it would take to meet with his dad in the past. 'We'd plan it three weeks in advance, mentally just getting prepared just to see you for half an hour. It was horrible and it was constant,' he described. Heston teared up and tenderly took his son's hand. 'Talking about this, this happened,' the TV star said, pointing to his tearful eyes. 'And I realise it's not me being bipolar, well it is me being bipolar, it's damaging the people I love, the people around me. So I'm sorry.' His son replied: 'I know, and I don't think you have to say that, because we know you were kind of in a bit of a world of your own at certain points and this conversation needed to be had, didn't it?' 'I just want you to know that I love you, I forgive you for everything and I'm really proud to me your son,' Jack added. The chef emotionally apologised again and said: 'I want to thank you, thank you for this. I want you to know how sincerely sorry I am. I love you, I love you, my children so much and I can see it now.' The pair then shared a hug. The documentary also looks into the state of healthcare for those with bipolar in the UK, with Heston talking to others who also have the condition about their experiences. He said: 'I was living with undiagnosed bipolar for many years, so it's been an extraordinary journey to get where I am today. 'There is still a big stigma around bipolar, but it is vital to be able to talk openly about the condition. 'I know this isn't always easy, but I hope by sharing my experience in this documentary people will gain a greater understanding of bipolar and an insight into my life now.' Heston, who has an impressive seven Michelin stars, became an ambassador for Bipolar UK in February. The charity describes the mental health condition as an episodic disorder characterised by potentially extreme changes in energy and mood. It carries the highest suicide risk of any mental health condition. Bipolar UK estimates more than one million adults in Britain have the disorder - which is 30 per cent more than the number of people with dementia. But it is thought some 56 per cent of those living with bipolar in the UK do not have a diagnosis. It comes after a heart-wrenching tell-all interview Heston gave to This Morning in March, recounting his suicidal thoughts and how he hallucinated about guns. The chef spoke about his mental health struggles to presenters Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shepherd, 50, to mark bipolar awareness month. He is keen to raise awareness about the condition, explaining the figures about the high number of people living with it in the UK - along with the significant proportion of those who are undiagnosed. The food critic explained before his diagnosis, he had stepped away from cooking and had a bit more time on his hands, which meant manic episodes became more prevalent. Heston said on the ITV show: 'In the darker moments, there was suicidal thoughts... 'I realised afterwards, it's quite a classic symptom of being in a mania stage you can hallucinate sound, smell, touch. I saw a gun on the table. 'I told my wife, which obviously, for me, it all seemed quite normal. I looked back at it, there was nothing normal about it.' Heston wants to break the stigma surrounding the disorder and confessed that he had 'no idea' he had it. He explained: 'It was about 13/14 months ago when I was sectioned. 'I got the diagnosis. I had no idea. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2017, so there is quite a big cross over with ADHD and Bipolar. There are similar symptoms. 'I really didn't think about it until having sort of manic highs and dropping to these lows. 'When you're on these manic highs, you get this sense of I don't know, you think I'm superman, everything is beautiful. 'Then something happens, it's a bit like an an overreactive child that's really having a great time, then someone moves something and then they have a mini tantrum. 'Then you can go into these sort of darker moments.' Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The restaurant owner also praised his wife Melanie for having him sectioned: 'It was the best thing that could have happened to me.' Cat said: 'That is very brave of her.' 'She didn't know if I'd blame her so much, that there was resentment build it,' he continued, 'But it saved my life.' After two months of hospitalisation he was put on medication 'that is continually being tweaked'. Heston said: 'I can look back and think blimey, those highs and lows, now I am definitely in the process of stabilising.' If you have been affected by this story, contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 Heston: My Life With Bipolar airs on BBC Two on June 19 at 8pm and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. WHAT IS BIPOLAR? Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? Moods of those with bipolar disorder range from periods of extreme elation and energy (known as a manic episode) to periods of extreme somberness and lack of energy (known as a depressive episode). HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED? According to the International Bipolar Foundation, sufferers are diagnosed with rapid cycling if they have four or more manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes in any 12-month period. This severe form of the condition occurs in around 10 to 20 percent of all people with bipolar disorder. WHAT CAUSES IT? Currently it is unknown what is the cause of bipolar disorder, which affects around 5.7 million US adults aged 18 or older.
