Gail Porter talks about her depression
By Liz Lockhart
Mental Healthy reported on Gail Porter being sectioned after a breakdown in April of this year and now we can report that she appears to be doing very well. You can read our original report here: Gail Porter sectioned after breakdown.
Speaking on the Lorraine programme Gail told what really happened in the lead up to her spell in a psychiatric hospital. Reports at the time said that she had cuts to her arms and chest which is something that Gail denies.
Gail said ‘I hate being on television but I want to help other people’ making it necessary to use this type of media to highlight mental illness.
She said that she had been suffering from depression and that she had been to see her GP for help. Any help which was offered was months away and Gail knew that she needed help now. Anyone who has suffered from depression will know that when you cry for help you need it quickly.
Gail went for a walk and decided to telephone her boyfriend to ask for help. He was very concerned at her mental state and decided to call the police as he feared that she may harm herself, Gail explained.
The police took her to a psychiatric hospital where she was sectioned and detained under the mental health act. Gail says that the nurses were amazing but it was ‘a really scary place’. She locked herself in her room each night whilst listening to very ill patients shouting. One of them tried to talk to people through the sewer system by shouting down a toilet all night. She didn’t want to be there but had no choice.
During the 17 days that she was detained, Gail was given many drugs. At first she didn’t want to take them but as she had not been sleeping for some time she decided that they would help her to sleep and took them. ‘I saw different doctors for a few minutes each day’ said Gail. Eventually Gail saw a doctor who felt that this was not the right environment for her and she was allowed to go home.
It has been the support of friends and family that has help Gail through this tough part of her life. ‘My ex-husband and his wife have been wonderful’ said Gail. They looked after Honey, their daughter, while Gail recovered. Gail referred to her daughter as ‘her rock’.
Gail decided to go to a retreat in Thailand to fully recover. She is now studying counselling in a further attempt to help others. Gail says ‘I want to give something back’ to all the people who have given her help and understanding.
Watching her it would appear that Gail has a way to go before she is strong enough to achieve this wish. She was often on the verge of tears during the interview and looked fragile. If she wants to achieve her dream to help others she must take more time for herself first. Only by recognising that she is still in a fragile place and by allowing herself plenty of time to recover will she be able to follow a career to help others.
In the meantime her appearances on television and in the press are an inspiration to other sufferers and we hope that Gail achieves all that she dreams of.
