Stephen Fry backs mental health campaign
By Margaret Rogers
The much loved actor and television presenter Stephen Fry has backed a campaign to raise awareness about 
poor mental health. Fry, who suffers from bipolar disorder, has, for some time, worked to raise mental health awareness and to overcome the stigma which still surrounds mental illness.
Stephen Fry is giving his support to the Scottish Association for Mental Health’s (SamH) Know Where to Go campaign. The campaign is aimed at helping people in Scotland with mental health problems to find the support, help and treatment they require.
A recent YouGov poll which was commissioned by SamH found that in Scotland alone some 800,000 adults would not know how to access support for mental health issues. The Office for National Statistics figures show that one in four people in Scotland experience poor mental health each year and, according to SamH, psychological ill-health costs the economy up to £10.7 billion annually.
Stephen Fry said ‘I made a film about it (his illness) some years ago and since then I have done my best to try and connect with organisations like SamH to help those who have mental health problems, because the major issue really facing the world is not the individual and their problems, it is society and its problems. It’s the stigma, it’s the fear, if you like, or mental health problems.’
He added ‘Those of us who suffer from a broken arm or broken leg find it pretty easy to talk about or even any internal illness, but when it comes to mental health there’s so much shame and so much stigma that a lot of us kind of hide the fact that something’s wrong, and we need to know where to go.’
The charity welcomed Fry’s support hoping that his involvement in the campaign will make sure that it reaches the widest possible audience.
