In this ARTSNIGHT program, presenter Lynn Barber looked at how people deal with depression and alcoholism. Through interviews with two expatriate Americans now living in Britain, Ruby Wax and Rob Delaney, she wondered whether some of the treatments now available actually had the power to cure or whether they were simply mumbo- jumbo.
The program not only revealed the interviewees' struggles with their problems; it provided a fascinating insight into social attitudes towards illness through Barber's reactions. Wax has always suffered from depression, but three years ago, when her television career declined, she was both physically and mentally at a low ebb. She took a Master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University; and since her graduation she has practiced mindfulness, as well as turning her experiences into a stage-show comprised partly of comedy and partly of question-and-answer sessions.
It was clear from Barber's reactions to Wax's experiences that Barber really didn't believe in the power of mindfulness to deal with depression. On the contrary she perceived it as a series of rather modish maxims that people like Wax might have embraced but had little or no significance in the 'real' world. Despite the superficial jollity, there was a palpable sense of uneasiness about the entire interview, as Wax became aware that she was talking to an unsympathetic interlocutor.
Not so Delaney. As he recalled the depths of his alcoholism, and how he cured himself while translating some of his experiences into stand- up comic routines, Barber seemed eminently sympathetic. Here was an illness that had obvious manifestations: people could understand simply from Delaney's body language whether he was "cured" or not.
The program as a whole emphasized the stigma that is still attached to illnesses of the mind, which people often believe will be "cured" as easily as influenza. When will we realize that depression is not "curable" but stays with everyone throughout their lives: all we can do is learn how to deal with it?
The program not only revealed the interviewees' struggles with their problems; it provided a fascinating insight into social attitudes towards illness through Barber's reactions. Wax has always suffered from depression, but three years ago, when her television career declined, she was both physically and mentally at a low ebb. She took a Master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University; and since her graduation she has practiced mindfulness, as well as turning her experiences into a stage-show comprised partly of comedy and partly of question-and-answer sessions.
It was clear from Barber's reactions to Wax's experiences that Barber really didn't believe in the power of mindfulness to deal with depression. On the contrary she perceived it as a series of rather modish maxims that people like Wax might have embraced but had little or no significance in the 'real' world. Despite the superficial jollity, there was a palpable sense of uneasiness about the entire interview, as Wax became aware that she was talking to an unsympathetic interlocutor.
Not so Delaney. As he recalled the depths of his alcoholism, and how he cured himself while translating some of his experiences into stand- up comic routines, Barber seemed eminently sympathetic. Here was an illness that had obvious manifestations: people could understand simply from Delaney's body language whether he was "cured" or not.
The program as a whole emphasized the stigma that is still attached to illnesses of the mind, which people often believe will be "cured" as easily as influenza. When will we realize that depression is not "curable" but stays with everyone throughout their lives: all we can do is learn how to deal with it?